Dangan Ronpa: Again
by Rigze
Summary: "It was supposed to be over. We caught her, we opened the door!" It wasn't until he got to the main hall that he realized that it was happening again, and that only he and a certain heir remembered anything. Can this unlikely pair manage to change the future? Or are some things set in stone? Rated for violence, mature themes, and language. Various parings.
1. Prologue

Dangan Ronpa: Again

Summary: "It was supposed to be over. We caught her, we opened the door!" It wasn't until he got to the main hall that he realized that it was happening again, and that only he and a certain heir remembered anything. Can this unlikely pair manage to change the future? Or are some things set in stone? Rated for violence, mature themes, and language.

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><p><strong>AN: The real purpose of this "prologue" is to kinda remind people of what was happening as they were leaving. Not entirely necessary for the story, but I think it deserved a place on here anyway. Feel free to go directly to chapter one! Side note though, there's gonna be both GuyxGuy and GirlxGuy parings in the story. If you feel uncomfortable with either of these, go ahead and turn back now! You've been warned! c:  
><strong>

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><p>Prologue:<p>

The six of us stood at the very spot where we and nine others did at the beginning of our ordeal. It seems like ages ago, now that I think of it. We all went through so much to get where we stand.

The crippling feelings created from watching our friends die.

The horrible realization that two years of our lives together had been ripped away.

The terrible truth of what is known as "The Tragedy".

The despair.

Everything we went through was for the sake of despair; to take those who represented hope and crush them in all consuming despair. That was her goal.

But we beat her. Our hopes overwhelmed the despair she had tried so hard to bring down upon us. Though we understand that we may have been safer staying in her world of despair, our hopes compel us to venture out into the world. A world we know nothing of.

And so here we stand, looking at the large metal door. In my hand is the device Junko dropped before her death. The key to our freedom.

Hina says she's gonna look for the nearest donut shop; her one track mind is more than enough to make me crack a smile.

Hiro offers to give us all a reading sometime, should we meet again. With his 30% accuracy rate, I feel like I'd feel safer without one.

Byakuya says he's going to rebuild the Togami family until it's even stronger than before. He then says he _might_ listen to us if we ever need anything, and may even help if he's not terribly busy. How very like him.

Toko says she'll write about her ordeal and her white knight Byakuya… and the rest of us too, she adds as an afterthought. I can only shake my head at this.

Finally, Kyoko speaks up. She says that even though this world is filled with despair, she's looking forward to face whatever comes up as long as it's with someone like me. I smile at her, and I can't help but think the same.

Without any other words to be said, we all turn back to the door. I glance back for one last look at our school, and with my head held high, push the button to what is supposed to be our future filled with hope.

And then everything goes black.


	2. Chapter 1: Despair Reset!

Chapter 1: Despair: Reset!

Makoto's P.o.V:

"…Ngh…"

I still feel the blackness surrounding my conscious as I come to. I sincerely feel like I've been hit by a bus, and it takes all I have not to slip back to sleep. I try to force open my eyes, but as soon as I do my vision swims, and I opt to shut them again. I decide to sit and take a moment to collect my thoughts before anything else. Pushing past the fuzziness in my head, I begin to form coherent thoughts.

"_We were… in the main hall. We were talking and… saying goodbye? Why..?"_ I suddenly feel a flash of pain in my forehead, but I push past it._ "…That's right, we were about to escape! I had the device in my hand, and I had just pressed the button… but then what?"_

Pushing those thoughts aside for the moment, I try to focus on determining where I am. I crack my left eye to see if my vision was still freaking out on me, and what greets me is… something I had hoped to never see again.

"What!?" I bolt upright, forgetting my pain for just a moment to stare wide-eyed at the sights surrounding me. I'm sitting in the exact classroom, in the very same seat that I had woke up in when it began, with the very same crudely drawn pamphlet directly to the right of where my head was just resting. Classroom 1-A of Hope's Peak Academy.

"It's… just a coincidence right? They probably just put me in here after I passed out…"

But even as those words left my mouth, I knew something was very wrong. If I really had passed out, wouldn't they have carried me into the nurse's office, instead of putting me into a classroom? A wave of dread suddenly hits me as I quickly glance at the clock.

"It's 8 a.m. No… no way!" It must have been well into the day when we completed the final trial! "_I could have been passed out for an entire day but-" My_ train of thought breaks as soon as I remember an important detail.

This was the time that I had first woken up in the classroom when it first began.

With a sense of urgency I push myself out of the desk and dart out of the room. "_No way… no way!" _With that lone thought going through my head I make my way to the main hall to hopefully negate my suspicions. As I reach the doors I stop for a moment to catch my breath before pushing them open.

I freeze at the sight that greets me.

Standing before me are fourteen faces I know all too well and suddenly I feel like puking. _"It was supposed to be over! We caught her! We opened the door! So why…!?" _

An abnormally calm Hiro breaks me out of my reverie. "Hey bro, are you okay? Didn't run into the illuminati on your way here, didja?"

"What? No!" he laughs at my outburst and continues, "_Anyway_, my name's Yasuhiro Hagakure, but I prefer to be called Hiro. Mind sharing your name with the rest of us my man?" I can already tell that he doesn't remember a thing. Nothing at all. And it's scary as hell.

I swallow thickly before speaking. "M-my name is Makoto Naegi." I take a deep breath and continue "Did the rest of you wake up in classrooms too?" During the chorus of affirmative answers like I expected, I quickly glance at everyone's faces, hoping to god that I'm not the only one who remembers; that I'm not the only one who knows what's happening. A twitch, a look, _something_ to tell me that it isn't just me. My heart sinks as I see nothing.

"_Why is it only me…? Someone else must remember something!"_

My thoughts are cut short as Taka shouts, "Never mind all that! It can wait! Makoto! How could you possibly allow yourself to show up so late!?" As much as I'm glad to see Taka alive, the shouting is something I do _not_ need at this point. He continues. "We were supposed to be here at 8 a.m. sharp! It's our first day, and you're already committing unspeakable acts! I _will _report this, and punishment-"

Junko… err, Mukuro, cuts in "What's your problem? Are you _seriously_ blaming him right now?" She shoots him a dubious look, and I make my best effort to not look directly at her. I don't know how to handle this situation!

"_Just how did this happen? I'm not one to believe in the occult, but I'm pretty damn sure there isn't any normal way someone can just be thrown back in time!" _At this point I'm putting all of my focus into keeping what I think is a straight face. _"Or maybe everything that happened was a dream? Like a plot twist in an M. Night Shyamalan movie? What if this IS an M. Night Shyamalan movie!? Can I see dead people?... Obviously I am!" _Deciding that particular train of thought should have hit the breaks a long time ago, I rub my temples in an attempt to dispel the headache that had just returned. _"I think Hiro may have rubbed off on me a little too much."_

I really need to get to my room so I can sort my thoughts, but we haven't even gone to the "entrance ceremony" yet… I sigh. _"This situation is too damn surreal."_

It appears the conversation still continued on without my full attention, as now everyone's decided to introduce themselves to me. Of course I already know their names, but being able to see people who you _know_ were dead is an amazing thing, albeit a bit unnerving. _"Thinking about it though, if I really have gone back in time, none of these people actually died yet."_

As I absentmindedly introduce myself to my friends, I continue to think. "_Am I going to have to watch all of these people die again? Maybe… I can change how it happens…?" _A sudden light feeling overtakes me._ "That's it! Maybe that's why I'm back, so I can change how this goes! But wait…" _I do my best to suppress a groan. "_How can I possibly do that!? Say "Oh hey, you better not kill this person?" They'll think I'm crazy!" _With the urge to get to my room growing, I speed up my introductions. It's only gonna be a matter of time before someone notices how nervous I'm acting.

Apparently someone already has.

I stand in front of Byakuya, the last person I have to introduce myself to, and he's giving me a calculating look. _"Ah crap," _I think_,_ trying not to panic_ "he must have noticed! He's gonna think I'm even more of an idiot than he did the first time! Talk about making this even more difficult!"_ I can already feel what he's going to say, something like "What are you so twitchy about, you insect?", or maybe "Go back to the gutter cretin. I'm trying to think." Holding my breath, I brace myself for a harsh retort.

The response I get is by far NOT what I was expecting, however.

"I'm… Byakuya Togami." He pauses. "Nice to _meet_ you."

I start at this. Either I really have gone crazy, or… he really just said that. If I remember correctly, Byakuya hadn't started to show a shred of human decency until after Celes/Taeko's trial. Not only that, but I'm pretty sure he emphasized the word "meet!" Could he remember too?

Attempting to contain my excitement, I reply in kind: "Nice to _meet _you as well, Byakuya." For a second I thought I saw his eyes widen just a fraction, but his cool façade is quickly put back in place. So he _does_ remember! I fight the urge to jump up and hug him, because even if we weren't in front of everyone, I don't think he'd like it too much if I did. He gives me a look that I think confirms this thought.

"Now that our…introductions are finished, maybe we should get on to something that actually matters." He continues. "We have more pressing matters than making friends."

"I agree!" Taka pipes up, "Not only did we all lose consciousness upon entering the school, but there are large iron plates covering all of the windows! Not only that…" he turns and looks at the door, "But there's a large metal gate where the entrance is, that was definitely not there when I arrived! Why? What's happened here!?" Taka …I had almost forgotten how intense he was.

While they continue on, I think about how ironic it all is. _"We were the ones who put up the metal plates and stuff to protect ourselves, and not one of us remember doing it. Two whole years of our lives… just gone. It's really sad how we all are such good friends, and we just… don't know it."_ I snort. "Except for Byakuya and I that is." I mumble.

I start at the sudden bell chiming from the speakers, and then a voice I could only hope to never hear again begins to speak. "Mic check, testing testing, one two! This is a test of the school broadcasting system! Am I on? Can you all hear me? Ooookay then!" Monokuma's disgustingly cheerful voice rings true through the school's speakers. "To all of the incoming students, I'd like to begin the entrance ceremony at… right now!" he giggles. "Please make your way to the gymnasium at your earliest convenience. That's all, I'll be waiting!" and with that, it cuts off.

As everyone else filters out to the Gym, Byakuya grabs my shoulder and leans down to whisper in my ear, and my breath hitches at the proximity of his face.

"Meet me in the bath house after we split up to investigate." After he says that, he simply turns and strides away. I stand there stunned for a moment before I walk after him, still reeling from the mixed emotions suddenly stirred up. "_I'm happy that he remembers and all but… why did I freak out like that when he got close to me? It's not like he'd kill me, so why?" _Sincerely confused at my reaction, I continue my walk down the eerie hallway to what feels like my second death sentence.

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><p>Before I enter the Gym, I stop as I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around to see Sayaka smiling at me.<p>

"Hey Makoto, before we go in, I need to ask ya something… kinda to continue from the introduction from earlier."

Looking at her, my situation becomes all the more surreal. She was the first of us to die but… she was also the one to make the first move. The one who incited the killings. Worse yet… she was going to pin Leon's death on me if she succeeded. I trusted her, and she ended up playing me for a fool.

I consider turning away and telling her to buzz off, but then I realize that _this_ Sayaka is different from the one I had met before. _This_ Sayaka hasn't had those thoughts yet. Thoughts to kill. Thoughts to manipulate. To prosecute her for something the other her did… would be completely unfair.

"What is it Sayaka?" I offer with a small and slightly forced smile.

She didn't seem to notice. "Makoto, did you happen to go to Blackwood Jr. High?" When I answer yes, her face lights up, and she tells me that she went there too, as I had expected. "I was in class four though, and you were in two!" She sighs in what I guess is relief and continues. "I'm glad I actually know someone here! Oh, but that aside, we should hurry in now. We're holding up the entrance ceremony!" She giggles and dashes to the gym. Leaving me with a mix of the warm fuzzies and a nervous pit in my stomach.

I sigh. _"This is going to be more difficult than I thought." _Even though I know what she's capable of, I still feel like I can die happy just from seeing her smile! "_How lame can I get? To think just minutes ago I was planning to ignore her, and now she has me in a near puddle of goo!_" Before I slip into a fit of despair that even Junko would cringe at, I sigh heavily and step into the gym.

I walk up and stand in front of Sayaka when she pokes me in the side. "Slowpoke!" she giggles. And suddenly the warm fuzzies are back. God dammit. I turn my face from her and will the blush that I'm certain is on my face away. I think I see Byakuya scowling at me from the corner of my eye, but my attention is pulled away from him when Monokuma's voice cuts through the chatter.

"Hey there, howdy, hello! Is everyone here? Good! Then let's get thing rolling!"

With all attention focused on the stage, Monokuma pops out for the "first" time since we've been here. The reactions are just as skeptical as I remember them.

"Huh? A…teddy bear?" Chihiro squeaks out.

Indignantly, Monokuma says "I am _not_ a teddy bear. I… am… Monokuma!" After his grand introduction, he continues. "I am this school's headmaster! Nice to meet you all!"

Hifumi is the first to speak. "Say WHAT? That teddy bear can talk!"

"I told ya already, I'm not a teddy bear! I'm Monokuma, your headmaster!" With the fear I had felt the first time just a small knot of nervousness now, I can't help but feel like Monokuma sounds like a petulant child who's just been told he can't get a new toy…or something.

In response to Monokuma's flailing, Hifumi screams. "Wahhhhhhh! It moved!"

Mondo, though looking disturbed, says "Dude chill! It's prolly just a remote control toy or somethin', seriously."

Monokuma then launches into his triad about how complex he is, and how offended he is to be compared to a mere child's toy. "My system is so complex even NASA wouldn't get it! Oh, but don't make me say anything more to crush their dreams! I simply couldn't BEAR that."

I can't help what comes out of my mouth. "'Bear that'? Are you kidding me?" Murmurs of agreement follow, but then Monokuma continues undeterred.

"Quiet down, quiet down! Now, moving on…" he pauses, for what I guess is effect. He's definitely given up the bear puns, and I'm oddly disappointed. "Everyone stand at attention and bow! Good morning!"

No one but Taka returns the gesture.

"Now then, let us commence this most memorable and noteworthy entrance ceremony!" I have to actively stop myself from scoffing. Having been through this moment before, I really can't help but feel how ironic everything that was said is. Memorable indeed.

"Now, you students who represent the hope of the world, have so much potential! As such, in order to cultivate that potential, you all are to live a communal life solely within the confines of this school."

"_Here it comes…"_ As I think this, Monokuma says, "Ah, and as for the end date of your communal lives… there isn't one! You'll all be here till the day you die!" Aaaaaand, silence. Then panic. He continues. "Ah, but don't worry! We have a huge budget, so you'll have everything and anything you could ask for!"

Of course people begin to object furiously, but Monokuma hears none of it. "Oh come now! We haven't even finished the entrance ceremony and you already want to leave? Ah but you know…" he then proceeds to tell us there is one way for us to leave, which obviously is… "All you have to do is kill someone! Simple huh?" His childishly cheerful voice only adds to the ominous meaning to his words.

Of course people begin to say how insane the idea of killing someone is, but I already know full and well that the idea isn't insane at all. Not in the slightest. And that very thought is horrifying. _"Since when had death become such a normal thing to me? It's disgusting!" _With that thought, I silently vow not to let it become that way again. I refuse to let so many of my friends die again!

Finally snapping out of my reverie, I realize Mondo is already yelling at Monokuma. "Listen asshole! This has gone too damn far! What kind of sick joke is this!?"

"Sick joke…?" Monokuma innocently replies, "You mean like your hair?"

Oh snap.

Mondo's vein on his forehead looks about ready to burst. "FUUUUUU-" He's only still for a moment before he launches himself at Monokuma and lifts him into the air by his face. "Gotcha ya little piece of shit! I dunno if you're a stuffed toy or whatever the hell, but either way I'm gonna rip ya to fucking shreds!" For a second I think I see his mouth foaming.

"Waah!" Monokuma's muffled voice squeaks out, "V-violence against the headmaster is against school rules!" He can only flail his limbs wildly in protest.

"Shut the fuck up! You let us all out of here, or I swear to god I'll-" He cuts himself short as Monokuma stops flailing… and starts beeping.

"_Oh shit!"_

Mondo continues "What, no comebacks!? Stop that fucking beeping and SAY something you little piece of shit!" Mondo looks like he's ready to beat Monokuma into oblivion, and I wait a beat before realizing something.

Kyoko isn't saying anything. She's just standing there with a troubled look on her face… and not doing much else. "_Why aren't you saying anything? You know it's a bomb right!?"_ Realizing she wasn't gonna say anything, I quickly turn to Mondo and yell to him.

"Mondo! Hurry up and get rid of that thing!" He turns to me and says "Hah!?" with a confused look on his face. The beeping speeds up, and I scream, "Just do it!"

Sensing the urgency in my voice, he turns and throws Monokuma high into the air… just in the nick of time. Not seconds before he was in the air, Monokuma explodes.

Mondo can only stare in awe at the remnants of the explosion still drifting to the ground. "The hell!? That thing sure as shit just blew up! That definitely wasn't a joke…"

I breathed a sigh of relief that he didn't seem to be hurt._ "What's going on though?" _I wonder, confused. _"Kyoko was definitely the one who warned him about the bomb the first time… None of this makes sense! My best friend wouldn't just let someone die like that, right?"_

Just then, Chihiro speaks up, "But wait, the teddy bear's been destroyed right? If so-" He's cut short by the bear in question.

"I _told _you, I'm not a teddy bear! I'm Monokuma!" For a second I had almost forgotten that there are a bunch of Monokumas lying around. Damn.

"You son of a bitch! You fucking just tried to kill me!" Mondo shouts, voice wavering. He's still shaken from the explosion.

"Well _duh_, of course I did! You violated one of the school rules after all! I'll let you off with a warning this time, but you better be more careful from now on." Monokuma wags his claw at this. "Naughty boys and girls who violate my rules don't get off with a swat on the butt ya know!"

I can't help but sigh at all of this nonsense. The first time around, Junko was so serious about her own rules. _"So much so that she killed her own sister… even though Mukuro was acting on her orders_." Of course, this thought snaps me to attention. "_How am I gonna save Mukuro!? She's technically part of Junko's plot of despair…a willing participant! She wouldn't listen to me!" _I make a mental note to bring it up to Byakuya, just as I'm handed my e-Handbook. Guess I spaced out again.

"And that," Monokuma cheers, "is the end of the entrance ceremony! Enjoy your super dreary lives!" He leaves us in a puff of smoke.

After several moments of stunned silence, Taka speaks in a shaky voice. "How… would you all define what just happened?"

The responses come in various shades of panic, when Kyoko speaks up. "Please, calm down everyone. Let's take a moment to summarize what all we just heard. Judging from what he told us, we have two options. We either live here till the day we die, or…"

"We kill someone if we want to leave." I finish, failing to keep the tone of dread out of my voice

After a beat of silence Taka says, "But… there's no one who's actually considering this right..?"

With that, I can only watch in sadness at the skeptical expressions on all of my friends faces as they try to read everyone around them. And while they all inevitably are asking themselves "Is someone going to betray us?" I'm left with a much more dark thought…

Who is going to betray us this time?

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><p><strong>AN: Wow. I did it.**

**I probably should have mentioned that dialog such as _"this" _is the character who's p.o.v I'm writing in's thought. (Which for now is going to be Makoto's, until stated otherwise.) Normal text with quotations is dialogue. **

**Feel free to review with any questions/concerns/suggestions you may have. c:**


	3. Chapter 2: Insight Ignite!

Chapter 2: Insight Ignite!

Makoto's P.o.V:

As we all stand around the gym, it only takes Kyoko's cool voice to break the tension.

"So? What are all of you going to do now? Just stand around glaring at each other?"

As she says this, it occurs to me that she's the one who broke the tension the last time it happened… but that alone raises a troubling thought.

"_So wait… if she did this like last time, why didn't she warn Mondo about the bomb? Did it not occur to her…?" _But that doesn't make sense. In every time travel movie I've ever seen, the people who don't remember always do the same thing… of course, they are just movies.

Taka's voice breaks me out of my thoughts. "…I can't forgive myself, I'm so ashamed! Someone, please hit me, punish me!"

Oh dear god. If I didn't already know about how Taka is, I would have thought he was some kind of freak. _"Well… he sorta is a freak. But in a good way. A perfectly nice freak."_ Mondo cuts in before this train of thought can go any further.

"Dude. If you have time to yell about it, you have time to do something about it."

Chihiro speaks up for the first time in a while, "B-but maybe we should look at the e-Handbook? We wouldn't want to accidentally break any of those regulations Monokuma was talking about..." He fiddles with his skirt as he struggles to make eye-contact.

As everyone is pulling out their handbooks and looking over the current regulations, I can't help but wonder how everyone will treat Chihiro once they figure out he's a boy… if I can manage to save him that is.

"_No no! I can't think like that." I internally fume, "Not if I save him, WHEN I save him!"_

I quickly flip through the regulations after shaking those thoughts. Nothing seems to be different. I raise my head from the screen and see various degrees of agitation on everyone's face. Mondo is first to say something.

"This is fucking bullshit!" he shouts, "What kind of stupid fucking rules are these? They aren't gonna tell me what to do!"

As Celes and Mukuro talk him down, Sayaka speaks up. "Does anyone know what the last part of the second regulation means?" By that… she's talking about the graduation clause. Right as I was going to explain, Byakuya cuts in.

"All its saying," Byakuya replies, with more than a little venom in his voice, "is that if we want to graduate, you have to kill someone _without getting caught_. There's obviously going to be some kind of punishment if someone catches the murderer. It's simple if you take the time to think about it." Sayaka is stunned to silence and shrinks back, seemingly embarrassed.

"_Okay wow." _I think, stunned._ "I know he remembers and all, but surely he must have thought about how she hasn't actually committed a crime yet!" _I decide to ask him about his attitude toward her later.

"_Anyway_," I say, before he decides to bite her head clean off, "I think we should start exploring! We all get the regulations now, so we should be able to explore without too much trouble."

"I agree!" Hina chirps. "There's no point talking about all of this silly murder stuff."

"Plus," Taka says, "We need to figure out where we are. Do we have food? Supplies? These are very vital!"

"Very well." Byakuya says, looking agitated. "We'll split up and examine the area. Half of us should explore the dorm area, while the rest survey the school."

"Who died and made you the boss?" Mondo snaps. "I don't like taking orders from some self-entitled prick!"

"I was merely suggesting the best course of action… unless _you_ have a better idea." He finishes with a sneer. I can see a vein in Mondo's neck starting to stick out.

"_Oh damn, wasn't it Byakuya's fault that I got punched by Mondo before?! Granted, he wasn't as much of a douche this time, but Mondo is still pissed!" _I sigh. _"Might as well try to calm him down. Worse comes to worse he's just gonna knock me out….eek."_

"Errr, Mondo?" he turns to look at me, seething. "We don't really have a better plan at this point, so I don't see any harm in just doing it that way…" I trail off, expecting him to snap at me and throw me across the room. I brace myself for the blow, but all he does is sling an arm around my shoulder.

"_Hah?"_

"All right then, no problem!" He cheers. "If my bro here thinks its best, I don't have an issue with it!"

…

…

"…What?" I manage to squeak after a beat of stunned silence. I…don't understand. He's _not _gonna throw me? What the hell? Even Byakuya seems surprised at this development.

He laughs, and continues. "Anyone who saves my ass like that is as good a bro as I can ask for! Hey, how did ya guess it was a bomb anyway? You some kind of genius?" Instead of paranoid suspicion at my warning, he seems to be just genuinely curious. He grins at me, excitedly waiting for my response.

More than uncomfortable, I manage a nervous laugh. "Ehehe… I just watch a lot of action movies is all. Usually when something starts beeping like that in the movies, it explodes."

He seems to accept this, and pulls me into a bone crushing one-armed hug. "That's awesome! I watch action movies all the time and I never noticed that before! You're one smart dude, bro."

"_Ack… I can't decide if I like him better like this or when he's putting me through a wall!" _I wince. I think my shoulder just popped! I frantically look around the room for some help, but everyone is either watching us with amusement, or are off having their own conversations. Byakuya is scowling at the wall.

"Come on bro!" He says, "Let's go explore the school together! The rest of these bozos can go explore the dorms." He starts to drag me off, and I almost let him… but then I remember I need to talk to Byakuya urgently.

"A-ah, Mondo?" I whisper to him, in an attempt to make it seem important. "Do you think you can go explore with Chihiro?" He looks at me confused, so I explain. "H- er... She's just so small, and she's been so nervous since we've been here…" I pause, for dramatic affect. "We don't know what this place is like. What if she gets into trouble and she's all alone? She needs a friend to watch her back." I look at him pleadingly, hoping that he'll fall for it.

I sigh in relief as he nods understandingly. "I totally get it bro. Gotta watch out for everyone right? You really are a nice dude!" He grins and releases my shoulder. "I'll definitely keep her safe! It's a promise between men, got it?" He holds out his fist, and I grin back at him and bump it with my own.

"Definitely. I trust you man." I say. "_He really isn't a bad guy, he's just really… passionate." _He grins at me one last time before jogging over to where Chihiro is talking with Celes.

Mondo P.o.V:

Ready to complete the task my bro assigned to me, I make my way over to that chick Chihiro. The weird Goth chick sees me coming and excuses herself before I make it over there. Whatever.

"Hey!" I say as I get to where she's standing, "We're gonna go exploring together!" She turns my way with big doe-like eyes and stares at me in surprise.

"W-what?" She squeaks. "_What? Am I speaking German or something?"_

"I said, we're going to go exploring together! C'mon!" I say grinning. I dunno what I said, but she suddenly looks down and starts messing with her skirt. "Eh? What's wrong?"

"W-well I mean," she starts, stuttering, "I don't know why you'd want to pair up with _me_ of all people."

"Hah!?" I say. I think it might have been too loud though, 'cause she starts and looks at me with watery eyes. _"Ah shit." _Panicking, I try to smooth over the situation. "H-hey, what's wrong?"

"It's just… I dunno why you'd want to come with me, you're so big…" She sniffles. "and I'm so not. How could I possibly help you at all?"

I bark out a laugh. "Is that it?" She nods. "Then there isn't an issue! You're a genius right? So you can do all the thinking…"

"Wha-"

I stoop down low and sweep her off her feet, hefting her onto my right shoulder. She's really light.

"…And I'll do all the leg work!" I finish, grinning up at her. By now everyone's attention is on us, not that I care.

"M-mondo, put me down!" She squeals, firmly gripping her skirt. "I can walk just f-fine!"

"Nope!" I say, grinning. "It's fair this way! Plus, up here you can get a better look at everything, right?"

She pauses for a second to think. "Well I guess so, but-" I cut her off.

"Great! Then let's get started!" I get a firm hold on her legs and take off out of the gym.

She yells and holds onto my arm for support. "A-ah, wait a minute Mondo, wait! M-mondoooooo!"

Makoto P.o.V:

"…_Passionately crazy maybe!"_

I stare at the gym's doors dumbstruck, like everyone else is at the moment. All I asked him to do is go explore with him! How does that warrant picking him up like that!?

"_Poor Chihiro… I didn't mean to do that to you." _I sigh. _"I'll have to make it up to him later, if for nothing else than to make myself feel better..."_

"Well done Mondo!" Taka shouts, surprising me. "To see a delinquent taking initiative like that warms my heart… We must follow in his footsteps!" He walks over to Mukuro. "Junko! Would you like to join me in surveying the school!?"

"What?" she manages. "I mean I guess that'd be cool, but-"

"Very well!" He shouts, and then does the very same thing that Mondo did.

Except her legs are on either side of Taka's head.

Who seems to have forgotten that she's wearing a skirt.

A skirt that is currently leaving _very_ little to the imagination.

"_B-black lace…!" _I immediately feel the heat pooling in my cheeks at the sight. _"Do those even count as underwear!?" _

She doesn't seem to notice, but she starts beating his head in an effort to get him to put her down, face crimson. "Lemme down ya idiot!" He only laughs in response. "It's not funny! What the hell is your issue!?"

"It's no issue! I was simply following Mondo's spirited example! I, of all people, cannot allow myself to be out done by a delinquent!" He replies, eyes sparkling.

"Whaddya mean "spirited"!? He just hauled Chihiro off! No way are you doing the same to me, you dolt!" Saying this, she starts to struggle to get free with renewed vigor, which only makes her skirt ride up higher.

I turn my head in an effort to save her some decency, and I'm relieved to see that everyone is doing the same... Everyone except for Hiro and Hifumi that is, who are currently shamelessly gawking at her ass.

Celes walks up behind them noiselessly and smacks them both squarely on the back of the head. "Pigs." She spits, and quickly drags them out of the gym kicking and screaming by their shirt collars.

Mukuro stops her efforts to get free and looks up to see what was happening. Sayaka speaks up.

"Erm… Junko?" She coughs and points to her butt in an effort to subtly inform her of her problem.

She looks confused at first, but catches on quickly and glances down. Her face turns even redder than I had initially thought possible, and she shouts at Taka.

"Moron, you seriously need to let me down! People can see my ass!" This seems to finally get through to Taka.

"Ah, I'm so sorry, hold on a moment!" Instead of letting her down like I had expected however, he begins to take off his uniform jacket. _"What the hell is he doing!?"_

Before I can voice this thought, he somehow manages to take off his jacket without having Mukuro get off his shoulders, and is left only in a white tank top. She looks down and shoots him a dubious look as he hands it to her. "What the hell is this for?"

"For you to tie around your waist!" He says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "While dress code is a matter of great importance to me, protecting a girl's modesty takes priority! Please take it so that we may begin our investigation!"

I can't tell if the blush on Mukuro's face is from either embarrassment, anger, or the fact that Taka's body is actually _really_ sculpted under all of his clothing, but just as she looks like she's about to smack him again, she relents with a sigh.

"Alright then Brows," she says, tying the jacket around her waist, "since you're _obviously _not gonna let me go, let's just get this over with!" She kicks him in the side. "Giddy up!"

Taka grins, and bolts out of the door almost as quickly as Mondo did, nearly dropping Mukuro in the process.

…

"_What the hell did I just start!?" _I can't help but to think… Did all of this seriously stem from me telling Mondo that it was a bomb, rather than Kyoko? I sigh. _"I think I need to be more careful about what I say from now on… even though it was necessary this time."_

I let out a long-suffering sigh. "I guess we should all get going huh? Wouldn't want to be out-done right?" I say, laughing slightly.

"Very well." Sakura replies, with Hina nodding. "We shall go investigate the dorm area… I will not be picking you up, however." She gives Hina a stern look at her pout, and they both exit the gym.

"Okay then!" Sayaka cheers. "We'll be off too, right guys?" She turns and looks at me expectantly.

"Err, right… I think I'll go search on my own for a bit. Maybe I'll meet up with you later?" She looks slightly put-out, but nods at me none the less. She then turns to Toko and Leon and tries to goad them into going with her.

"I suppose it's time for me to depart as well." Byakuya says. "Let's not waste time."

With that, he exits the gym, and I follow silently after.

* * *

><p>As we head for the dorms, a thought occurs to me. "Hey Byakuya?" I whisper. He grunts in acknowledgement. "Isn't the bath house off limits for now?"<p>

"Don't worry." He replies evenly. "I've thought it out."

With those words, he goes silent again.

"_Geez, I know he isn't the chatty type, but you'd think he'd make at least a little small talk in this situation." _I think, irritated. Isn't it sorta suspicions to be walking around in complete silence?

As we near the entrance to the bath house, my suspicions are confirmed as I see yellow caution tape blocking off the entrance. _"What's his plan I wonder?"_

I wasn't left hanging for long however, as Byakuya simply pulls the caution tape away from the bath's large opening.

I stare at him, stunned. "What the hell are you doing!?"

Monokuma then makes his appearance out of nowhere. "I hafta agree Mister Heir, just what _are_ you doing? That was taped off for a reason you know!"

"I want to take a bath." He states simply, with a scowl and a raised eyebrow.

…

"_Oh my god. THAT'S his plan?" _I can only look at him with something akin to disbelief. Did he seriously expect this stunt to work!?

Monokuma laughs. "Oh you are a riot! Think just because you're a rich boy that you can get into a restricted area?" He wags his claw at this. "No sir no sir!"

"And why, pray tell," he replies, exuding an air of sheer arrogance, "is this area restricted? Do you have a viable reason?"

"Well if you really must know, it was supposed to be a reward to you all." He says, pouting. "You know, after someone committed the first murder..."

"And how do you know that we're even going to kill each other?" He continues in a condescending tone. "Will it simply be off limits forever if nothing happens? I hardly think that it's fair for you to leave a perfectly functioning bath house off limits for the rest of our lives."

"But it _won't_ be forever, cause someone _will _off someone else! It's gonna happen!" He cries indignantly.

"Oh?" Byakuya smirks. "So you're one-hundred percent certain that someone is going to commit murder?"

"_Yes!" _He cries exasperated. "How many times do I hafta tell you nematodes, someone WILL die! Geez…"

Watching their back-and-forth, I figure out that he's trapping Monokuma with his own words. I decide to go along with it… even though I'm still not sure it's going to work.

"Well then," I say, smiling, "Since someone is gonna die at some point anyway, what's the harm in getting one little reward in advance?" I tilt my head and continue. "Unless you really _aren't_ sure that someone will become a murderer…" I finish, shooting him a dubious look.

By this point Monokuma looks absolutely crestfallen. "How could you guys be so mean as to doubt your headmaster in such a huge way…?" He grumbles to himself for a moment before continuing. "…I suppose I'll give you early access to a reward this one time, just to prove to you dweebs how confident I am that someone's gonna snap and become a cold-blooded killer! Upupupu, Yeah, that works!" He finishes, triumphantly. He then disappears, saying that his business here is done.

Shocked that he actually took the bait, I turn to Byakuya. "I can't believe that worked… Just how certain were you that he was gonna fall for that?"

"I figured he'd either take my bait or try to punish me for going in there. Seems like it was the former." And with that, he enters the bath house.

I fight the urge to fall over. _"So basically not at all right?"_

Mondo's P.o.V:

As I raced out of the trophy room, Chihiro starts to talk. "W-wait a minute Mondo! We won't find anything out if we're going at top speed!"

Hearing this, I screech to a halt. "Ahh, you're right! See, this is why you're with me! I woulda just kept running around here till I found something worth looking at." I finish, looking up at her with a grin. She blushes.

"Y-yeah well, I think we might want to look at all of these metal plates first." She says, looking at the windows. "To see if there's any way we can remove them."

"Right!" I walk over to the nearest plate and start looking at it. "I'm gonna hafta put you down for a second, I wanna try something."

She nods, mumbling something about how she didn't need to be carried around anyway, and I place her on the ground.

"Alright!" I yell, throwing off my _Crazy Diamond _jacket. "LET'S DO THIS SHIT." I grab the edges of the metal plate and start pulling with all my might.

"Huaaaaaaa!"

I focus all of my attention on trying to take the plate off. If I was paying attention, I would have seen the look on Chihiro's face go from awe-struck to worried.

"Mondo?" She says. I ignore her and continue pulling. "Mondo!?"

"Just a little…more!"

"Mondo!" She yells, and throws both arms around my left bicep, effectively suspending her in the air. This gets my attention.

"What?!" I yell out, surprised.

She looks up at me with tears in her eyes and a frown on her face. "You need to stop!" She says, trying to be stern. "Y-your hands…"

Confused about what she meant, I look at where my hands are placed on the metal sheet. My eyes widen a fraction as I see blood trickling steadily down the metal plate from where my hands are gripping the edges.

Whoops.

I relax my grip on the metal plates and let go completely once Chihiro lets go of my arm. I look down to scope out the damage done, and see one deep cut on each of my palms. _"Damn… did a real number on myself!"_

Chihiro grabs my jacket off of the floor and then walks over and grabs my arm, still teary. "Come on! We've got to get those cleaned up…"

Before I can object, her small hand is wrapped firmly around my wrist as she leads me down the hall to the men's bathroom.

"H-hey," I stutter. "This is the guy's bathroom! You shouldn't be coming in here!" I feel my face grow hot.

A dark look passes over her face before she continues. "N-no, its completely fine. Let's just fix up your hand before it gets infected." We walk over to the sink and she runs hot water on each of my palms, before patting them dry with paper towels.

If my face wasn't red before, it definitely is now. She's just so… gentle. Plus the determined look on her face as she focuses on tending to my hands is undeniably cute… _"Okay back up!" _I internally smack myself. _"Now isn't the damn time to be thinking about that kind of thing! We need to focus on finding a way outta here."_

She catches my attention when she starts muttering to herself. "Hmm… Something to wrap them…" Her face lights up. "Ah! I have just the thing…" She trails off as she starts digging in her pockets, and after a few moments pulls out a light green plaid handkerchief.

And starts to rip it in half.

"O-oi! You don't have to do that!" But before the words are out of my mouth she's already finished the job. "…That was sorta unnecessary girlie. Ya don't need to wrap 'em, I'll be fine."

"No no!" She scolds, determined pout on her face. "I would hate for you to get an infection when I can do something to prevent it! Now, give me your hands."

"…Right." I give in and hold up my hands for her to work on, and she shoots me a smile before setting to work. I'm pretty damn sure my face is red again. _"Damn… I promised bro to help her out, but it looks like it's the other way around… how lame."_

…

After a couple moments of silence, Chihiro speaks.

"So, um…" She starts, nervous. "I'm really, really sorry. I should have stepped in before it got this bad."

"Hah?" What the hell has she got to apologize for!? "Listen chika, I did this to myself. I just kinda got in the zone there trying to pull off the plate… I actually want to thank you for stoppin' me back there." I flash her a grin.

"B-but-" she starts, but I make sure to stop her short.

"But nothing!" I yell, and she jumps. "Sorry," I say. I nearly forgot that this one scares easy. "but seriously, you got me to stop. I know for a fact that I can be really fucking bull-headed when it comes to things, and it's a damn feat that you managed to stop me before it got really bad. Now I don't want you to be blamin' yourself for this anymore, promise?"

She looks at me for a second before flashing what I think is an award winning smile. "Right. I won't anymore, I promise!" And with that, she finishes wrapping my hands and hands me my jacket.

I quickly pull it on. "Kay then, let's continue looking around!" I smile down at her and start to walk towards the door, but then something occurs to me. I turn back to her.

"Hey… ya know, since you made a promise to me, I think I'll make one to you." She looks at me, curious.

"Like what?"

"Well… I dunno." I think for moment, before it hits me. "I got it!" I hold up one of my hands so she can see it, and point to the cloth she tied around it. "I promise that I'll replace this for ya one day! But until I can…"I pick her up and put her back on my shoulder. "I'll be your hankie!"

"W-what? My hankie?" She asks, more than a little confused.

"Yeah!" I say, grinning. "Whenever you feel like crying, or if something's bugging ya, you can come to me! I may not be the best at feelings or whatever the hell, but I'll definitely try to help ya out however I can. It's the least I can do for how well you took care of me! Look," I hold up my pinky for her. "This'll seal the deal."

She looks stunned for a moment, before she smiles wider than she has this entire time and locks her pinky with mine. "Right! It's a promise!"

With that, my new ladybro and I leave the bathroom to continue investigating… but then we're stopped by a very scandalized looking Hina and a very pissed Sakura.

"_Ah, fuck me."_

**A/N: *gasp* Another chapter! Honestly kinda sillier than how I expected it to turn out, but I was trying to make a point; that when something small is changed, it can have a pretty drastic effect on a lot of factors. I **_**may**_** have over done it a tad.**

**I was gonna post Byakuya's and Makoto's conversation in the bath house this time (to kinda make it a little more serious), but after I finished typing I decided it would make it too long! ; u; I'll have it up within the next couple of days.**

**I need to ask though, do you guys think I should continue with the alternating points of view? Or does it make it hard to follow? I'd hate to leave you guys confused. **

**This note is sorta longer than I'd like, so I'm just gonna finish it up here. See y'all later! -Rigze**


	4. Chapter 3: Don't call me Shirley!

Chapter 3: Don't call me Shirley!

Makoto's P.o.V:

As I walk in to the bath house, I see something I _really_ didn't think I'd ever see.

Byakuya without his glasses.

I arch an eyebrow in question, and he sighs. "It's so humid in here right now that my glasses became fogged up." He runs his hand through his hair and continues. "But that's not the point right now… we obviously need to talk."

I nod in agreement and plop down on the bench next to him. We both remain silent for a few minutes before I decide to speak.

"So… how much do your remember?"

He thinks for a moment before replying. "Up until we opened the door. All I recall is a bright light, and then everything goes black. I presume you woke up in the same room you did initially as well?"

"Yeah, in the exact same position too." I pause a moment to lick my lips and continue. "How do you think this happened? It doesn't make sense that you and I are the only ones who remember it all…"

"I have a couple of theories as to what may have happened…" He starts. "However, none of them exactly explain why only you and I remember. But in all honesty that's not what we need to focus on at this point."

"What do you mean? Don't you think it's kind of important to figure out how we got here?" I look at him, curious.

"I never said it wasn't you idiot." He replies scowling. "I think that if we focus on _why_ it happened, rather than _how_, we'll end up coming up with a lot more answers to all of our questions."

I nod with a sigh. "I guess that makes sense. Though if I had to take a wild stab at what may have happened, I feel like Junko probably has something to do with it."

"You're probably right about that… though I honestly don't know how she could have pulled it off…" He trails off, rubbing his temples.

I pop up off of the bench and turn to face him. "Well you know, there's only one way we can possibly figure it out. We're gonna have to go through this again and confront Junko about it in the end." I say, fixing an even gaze on him. "But this time is gonna be different. I refuse to let all of our friends die again knowing how it's going to happen!"

He looks at me for a moment before looking away. "…It's not that simple Makoto. There's no telling what may happen this time."

"How is it not that simple!?" I ask, pissed. "We know all of the motives and who acts first, so how hard could it possibly be to plan around it?"

"That's not what I'm talking about you dolt." He shoots an icy glare my way. "I have a sneaking suspicion that not everything is going to work out as it did previously. You saw it yourself you know… it's not all the same."

It takes me a minute to think of what he means… and when I do it hits me like a ton of bricks.

"You mean… about what happened with Kyoko earlier…?"

He relaxes a bit at my understanding. "Yes. That incident alone proved to me that not everything is going to be the same this time. Had you not told Mondo about the bomb, he would be dead without a doubt. I was watching her the entire time, and not once did it appear that she was going to say anything... she may not have even thought it to be a bomb at all."

I start at this. "You mean to tell me that it may not have occurred to her at all!?" He nods solemnly. I rub my hand on my forehead and sigh. "So if that's true then… does that mean it's all going to be different?"

"Not all of it. Some things are definitely still the same. Everyone is still acting the same as when we knew them, and none of the regulations have changed. We can also probably assume that the motives presented to us will all be the same as well. We're simply going to have to be on our toes at all times, never assume everything to be the exact same." He finishes, rubbing his neck. It seems like he's put a lot of thought into all of this.

"Right…" I say, nodding. "In that case though, don't you think it would be a good idea to act as though it _were _the same, but still expect things to go differently? We don't really have a solid plan of action otherwise." I sit down on the bench across from him, and wait for his reply.

"Very well." He says after a beat of silence. "If we're to assume that things will turn out exactly as they did last time, our focus should first be on Sayaka and Leon… and the video motive."

"Mukuro as well…" My eyes widen as I remember what I wanted to discuss with him. "Ah wait, Mukuro! How on earth are we supposed to save her? She and Junko are obviously working together right now, so who's to say that she would even listen to us…?" I finish, nerves starting to build up. He notices immediately.

"Calm down Makoto." His gaze is still as sharp as ever, but there's a more gentle tone to his voice. "We will find a solution to this in time; for now we need to think of a way to prevent the first murder. You and I will definitely figure this out, but we must not get ahead of ourselves."

My heart skips a beat at the way he's looking at me. _"This is weird. He's definitely acting differently, right? O-or maybe it's just the lack of glasses that makes him seem different? I don't know…" _I internally sigh._ "but whatever it is, it's really not important right now." _I give him a small smile, but it falters when I remember what else I needed to ask him.

"Wait, Byakuya?" He arches an eyebrow. "Why were you acting so coldly to Sayaka earlier? You obviously know that it hasn't occurred to her yet to kill someone yet, so it doesn't make any sense."

He doesn't answer right away, instead opting to look out the door to the bath house for a moment before looking straight at me. "You shouldn't get close to her again."

This catches me by surprise. "What do you mean?"

"She used you as a pawn the first time Makoto, she isn't really your friend." He replies evenly. "What's stopping her from doing it all over again? You're only going to end up hurting if you get close to her."

"Are you stupid?" I ask, irritated. "Sayaka _is_ my friend, I just didn't handle her well enough the first time! I just won't switch rooms with her when, and more importantly _if,_ she asks me."

He lets out a long suffering sigh. "Like I said earlier, _Makoto, _things aren't that simple. Though she may not use you in the same way, there is a pretty good chance that she somehow will! It's in her nature, it has nothing to do with circumstance."

"Like I said earlier, _Byakuya,_" I mock, "Sayaka is my friend! The only reason she did what she did last time is because of my enabling her! Plus, what do you even mean "It's in her nature"!? She's gotta be one of the most sweet people I've ever met!"

He stands and crosses his arms. "You're naïve if you think that's actually how she is." He hardens his look into a glare. "Sayaka Maizono is one of the worst types or people. She'll appear outwardly as a sweet, caring girl, but on the inside is someone who's well-versed in manipulation and cutting throats in order to achieve her goals." He glances at me again before looking back out the door.

In the small lull of conversation, I suddenly remember something. Last time, Sayaka herself had said that she's done a lot of bad things to get where she is… I quickly shake that thought off. _"This and that are two totally different things!" _I internally smack myself. "_She isn't like that!" _

He suddenly starts speaking again. "I'm telling you this for your own good Makoto. Stay away from her." He suddenly leans in close, with our noses nearly touching. My breath hitches. "You will regret getting involved with her again, I assure you." With that, he pulls away and sweeps out of the room.

Still trying to calm down my heart, I yell after him. "Yeah right, you jackass! You'll see, things are going to be different this time! She's not gonna do it again, and I'll make sure of that myself!" Unsure of whether or not he heard me, I sigh and turn to leave as well when something catches my eye.

On the bench next to where Byakuya was sitting are his glasses, neatly folded and placed on a towel.

"_How unlike him to forget something like that…" _I sigh. _"I should probably give them back to him later, even though he's an ass."_

I put them in the pocket of my hoodie, and leave the area.

* * *

><p>Byakuya's P.o.V:<p>

Without anything better to do until further notice, I decide to head to my room to cool my head.

"_That… hadn't gone as well as I had hoped it would." _It was probably wishful thinking on my part that he'd agree not to go near her, but I wasn't expecting him to reject the idea so violently after what she did to him. _"That's just the type of person he is though… so forgiving and optimistic."_

"Of course, that's what's going to be his downfall if he doesn't heed my advice…" I mumble as I enter my room. "He doesn't know what I know about that girl."

As I try to look around to see if anything has changed, I realize that I'd forgotten my glasses back in the bath house. I shake my head and make a mental note to go back for them later.

I lay down on the bed and close my eyes. _"Not that he'd believe me if I told him. That girl is an angel in his eyes."_

As I lay there, I can't help but feel slightly guilty for not bringing it up the last time we went through this. I could have told him after the fact, but she was already dead. Why not let him believe that she really _was_ an angel? I didn't expect this to happen.

Thinking about it, I should have confronted her about what I found the first time. But back then I was actually impressed with her actions, if anything I would have commended her for them… not now though. I may not be completely different, but I do think I've changed a little bit.

"_Because of him."_ I think sighing.

When I first met him, I wouldn't think any more of him than an insect on the bottom of my shoe. He was just a short, boring boy with no special qualities to speak of, and had only gotten into this school through dumb luck alone. But as we went through our "school life" together, my opinion of him changed drastically. As I interacted with him, he made me realize things about myself and others around me… that I was human just like the rest of them. As much as I loathe to admit it, he made me a better person than I initially was.

"_He became a beacon of hope for us all, and is someone I undoubtedly respect…"_

…

"_Respect really isn't the right word though."_ I think with a sigh._ "I do respect him, but that's only part of it… I think most people would describe this feeling as "liking" someone?"_

I roll over on my side and stare at the door, which is little more than a fuzzy blur. _"When did these feelings first come up..? I don't really think there was one single moment that made me feel like this… It just happened."_

Except things aren't supposed to "just happen" to Byakuya Togami. They're always meticulously planned out from the very beginning, to eliminate any possibility of the odds turning against me.

"_But the one thing I hadn't hadn't factored in… was feelings_."

Feelings I hadn't felt toward another person in my entire life. Feelings that have absolutely nothing to do with logic. For once I can say that though I have nothing to gain from this person, I still want them nearby… and it's terrifying.

"_Especially since he'll most likely not feel the same."_

It wasn't until recently that I accepted these feelings for what they were. Up until this point, I hadn't been physically attracted to another male… I had always considered myself perfectly straight. Imagine my surprise when I started _watching _him, just finding myself passing time by watching what he did.

Of course by watching him though, I've figured out well enough that he is in fact straight_._ The probability that he'd consider returning my feelings is, dare I say, _despairingly _low.

I begin to glare at the fuzzy door, willing it to become clear. _"He'd much rather try to get with that two-faced girl that he doesn't actually know anything about." _I sigh and get up, deciding that I've spent enough time doing nothing.

"_I seriously fear for what she may do to him… so I'll just have to remain one step ahead of her."_

* * *

><p>Taka's P.o.V:<p>

As we finish searching the last classroom on the first floor, Junko gets my attention by smacking me on the back of the head.

"Ya know Brows…" I have no idea why she calls me that. "We may be a little more effective in searching the area if you _let me down._" She gives me a pointed look, and I can only shake my head at her foolishness.

"That isn't acceptable." I say, giving her a stern look. "I cannot risk you getting hurt at this point in time. Until I am certain that there are no immediate threats, I can't allow you to roam around freely."

She arches an eyebrow at me. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself you know. Contrary to popular belief you don't need to be dumb to be pretty."

I look at her, shocked. "I never meant to imply that!" I sigh, and turn to set her down on one of the desks. "I am by no means doubting your intelligence Junko. I was merely attempting to do my job."

She gives me a dubious look. "Your job..?"

"Yes!" I say, looking directly into her eyes. "My number one priority at all times is to protect my fellow students, no matter the cost! I'd gladly carry you around all the time if it meant that I could keep you safe."

She gets a strange look on her face and remains silent for a moment before speaking up. "But you don't even _know_ me. Why would you go so far just to protect someone you just met?"

I widen my eyes at her question. "Shouldn't it be obvious!?" I say at a near yell, making her jump. "Just because I am not personally acquainted with someone does not make their life worth any less! I would be a terrible person if I only tried to protect people I know personally."

She appears to be honestly surprised at my answer, as she's left her mouth agape. I try to assist her by closing it, but she smacks my hand away and glares.

"So you seriously mean to tell me that if you could save a complete stranger's life, you'd put your own on the line?" Something about her tone makes me nervous, but I continue on regardless.

"Absolutely!" I say, grinning at her. "If I knew for a fact that I could save someone's life but potentially lose my own in the process, I'd still do it!"

She turns to the metal covered windows and glances back at me. "…but why?"

I stand up straight and cross my arms. "Because that's what I think is right!"

As I say this she turns to me. She looks deep into my eyes, and as I look back into hers I can't help but think there's something oddly familiar about them. After a couple beats, she breaks her gaze and nods.

"Alright, I believe you!" She claps her hands together and stands, seemingly content. I, however, am not.

"Wait a moment!" I stop her in her tracks. "I must know why you decided to ask those questions. Do you not share the same opinion?"

She looks downward and starts to play with the ends or her hair, contemplating something. I wait for a couple of beats before she starts talking.

"…No. It's not that I don't agree." She says, murmuring. "On the contrary, if I could die for something or someone with good reason, I'd die happy." She pauses a second. "…I would just have to be certain that what I was dying for was worth it." She then rounds on me with a smile, returning to her normal speaking voice. "But there really isn't a point in talking about this right now, is there? We have more exploring to do!"

Something tells me that this conversation may come back up at some point, so I let it go for now. She turns to exit the room before I stop her again.

"Hold it! Where do you think you're heading off to?" I sweep her up and cradle her in my arms. "You aren't allowed to walk around until I deem it safe!" As I'm about to exit the room, she smacks my chest.

"What the hell are you doing now!?" She looks up at me with a panicked look on her face, cheeks blazing. "Don't you get just how wrong this looks?"

"What?" I ask, confused.

"The way you're holding me Brows! P-people are gonna think stuff!" She says, stumbling over her words.

"Eh? But my jacket is still tied around your waist, and I'm holding it to your legs. No one can say anything about your modesty now!" I say, beaming down at her.

This only makes her face get even redder. "Don't bring that back up!" she snaps. "I'm taking about how people might think we're a thing!"

"A thing?" I ask, not quite getting what she's saying. "What kind of thing do we look like?"

She groans and hides her face behind her hands. "Like a _romantic_ thing Brows!"

I still don't get what she means. "I'm just carrying you though… what does romance have to do with it?"

"Urrrgh!" She muffles a scream in her hands. "Just put me back up on your shoulders you idiot! It's less detrimental for my sanity up there!"

I shrug and decide to comply with her. Once she's safely up there, I glance up to see that her face is still red. "What's wrong now?" I ask worried.

"N-nothing!" She stutters, and takes a deep breath. "…Nothing at all, Brows. Can we just get going now? I want to meet up with the others to see what they've discovered. We must have covered all the areas by now."

I raise an eyebrow at her strange behavior, but nod and walk out of the room none the less.

* * *

><p>Makoto's P.o.V:<p>

After wandering around aimlessly for a couple of hours, I guess that people must have started gathering in the dining hall by now. When I enter I'm surprised to see that only Sayaka is standing there.

She waves when she notices me. "Hey Makoto! Where've you been?"

"Oh, ya know… here and there." I say, smiling. "Where are Leon and Toko? Weren't you with them?"

"Ah well… Toko sorta split off on her own pretty quickly after we started searching, and Leon went to go check out his room. I decided to wait here cause it seemed like it would be a pretty good gathering place." She says, glancing off to the side.

"Makes sense." I say, nodding. "So, what did you discover?"

"A lot, actually." She says with a smile. "But we can talk about that later when everyone's here. There are a couple of things I wanna ask you about right now."

"Oh? Like what?" I ask, feigning curiosity. I can probably already guess the things she's going to want to talk about.

"How did you get into the bath house?" She asks with a smile.

…Or not.

"Eh?" I say, surprised.

"Yeah, how did you get in there? When Leon and I went by it earlier it was blocked off, but I saw you leaving it a little while ago." She tilts her head to the side. "How'd you do it?"

"A-ah, well… I was with Byakuya, and we sorta talked Monokuma into opening it up to us." I say, not wanting to look directly at her. "It was actually supposed to be a… "reward", for after one of us committed murder."

"What?" She asks, surprised. "Why would he reward something like that? How terrible!" She then launches into a triad about just how terrible it is, and I sort of tune her out.

I bite my lip. _"It's sort of ironic that you'd say that… because you're the one who got us that reward." _I look back at her and she's still ranting about it. I decide to cut her off before she runs out of breath.

"Anyway," I say, trying not to be too rude about it. "Monokuma was so convinced that one of us would commit murder that he decided to give us a reward early! As messed up as it is, it's nice to have something like that available until we find a way to escape."

She doesn't seem bothered by my interruption. "It really is… you're amazing Makoto! It's great that you managed to convince that bear to let us have it!"

"W-well, Byakuya is the one who did a lot of the talking you know…" I say, blushing. "I just helped a little."

"Oh come now, I bet you're just being modest!" She says, beaming. "You really are great… oh! I have an idea!"

She walks up to me and grabs both my hands in her own. I can feel my face get hotter. "Let me be your assistant! I'll help you out as much as I can, I promise!" She looks at me expectantly, and I obviously already know my answer… but just as I'm about to speak, something Byakuya said earlier makes me hesitate.

"_**Sayaka Maizono is one of the worst types or people. She'll appear outwardly as a sweet, caring girl, but on the inside is someone who's well-versed in manipulation and cutting throats in order to achieve her goals."**_

I quickly push the thought out of my head. He was just being paranoid! As long as I don't switch rooms with her when she asks, I should be fine right?

"Erm… Makoto?" She looks at me, worried. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing at all!" I say, waving my hand frantically. "I'd love for you to be my assistant Sayaka, as long as you let me help you too!"

She grins at me, and nods. "Right-o captain! What's first on the agenda?"

"Well…" I say, thinking. "Help me gather up everyone? By now we must have covered all the areas possible, so I'd like to see what everyone's found out."

"Right!" She cheers. "I'll look around the school, so you should look around the dorms. Let's go!" With that, she bolts out the door.

I smile and shake my head. _"I'm really glad she's alive." _Thinking this, I make my way to the doors, but I walk face first into something firm. And warm.

I look up to see Byakuya standing in the doorway. He raises an eyebrow. "Hello to you too, Makoto." My face goes hot, and I leap backwards.

"H-hey, Byakuya…" I say, looking away. "I was just on my way to go gather everyone! What a coincidence!" I let out a nervous laugh.

"…Right." He starts. "Did you happen to see my glasses anywhere? I thought I had left them in the bath house, but they're not there."

"Oh! Yeah, I have em right here. I wouldn't want anything to have happened to them." I quickly pull them out of my pocket, grateful for the distraction. He quickly puts them on.

"Thanks." He goes silent for a moment before speaking in a low voice. "I assume you haven't heeded my advice about the girl correct?"

I roll my eyes. "No, I haven't." I say in a harsh whisper. "I'm not gonna give her crap for something she doesn't even remember! She's my friend, regardless of what you say!"

He smirks. It's never good when he smirks.

"I had a feeling you'd probably respond like that." He takes a step toward me. "So I've reached a decision." Another step.

"O-oh yeah?" And another. "And what decision did you reach?" He's getting awfully close…!

Before I know it, he's right in front of me. "I've decided that since you won't believe me that she's dangerous…" He bends down until his mouth is right by my ear.

"I'll just have to protect you from her myself."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey look, another chapter! I sorta had a hard time with this one; it just seemed to drag on. But, there was important exposition and story developments going on, so I couldn't just scrap it. I promise the next one is going to be _much_ more eventful!**

**Thanks all, and I hope you stick with me through this! ~Rigze**


	5. Chapter 4: Once Upon a Dream

Chapter 4: Once Upon a Dream

Makoto P.o.V:

"W-what?" I sputter, not so much from what he's said, but from the fact that his face is _way_ too close.

"You heard me." He whispers. "Since you won't protect yourself, I'm taking it upon myself to watch over you." He pulls away slightly so that his eyes are level with my own. "Be grateful."

I hear a commotion from the hallway, and Byakuya straightens himself to his full height. He turns and walks to the other side of the dining hall, but not before shooting me one last devilish smirk.

"_What an idiot!"_ I internally fume. _"I don't need protecting, I can handle myself just fine!"_ Even as I think this though, I can't shake the warm feeling in my gut that formed from his words.

Byakuya Togami is by no means a nice guy. Even though he's changed a lot since I've met him, calling him nice would be like calling a hippo small. Funny, but not accurate. So for him to say something like that to me of all people… I can still feel the heat in my cheeks.

I shake my head in an attempt to get rid of the blush before people can see, but I stop when a very flustered Mondo busts through the door with an even more flustered Chihiro under his arm. Before I can even ask what's going on, Sakura nearly kicks the door off of its hinges.

"Let go of her you cretin!" She shouts, looking ready to put him through a wall. I decide to intervene before something bad happens.

"Woah woah, hang on a minute Sakura! What's going on?" I say, stepping in front of Mondo and Chihiro. "Why are you chasing him?"

"This animal had her alone in the men's room!" She says, seething. "Who knows what deplorable acts he was forcing her to commit!"

"H-hey now, I already told you that it wasn't anything like that-!" Mondo says, trying to catch his breath.

She cuts him off. "Lies! If it were true, why is she trying so desperately to hold back tears!?" She says with an increasingly dangerous aura emanating from her. I turn back to look at Chihiro to see that he really was close to going into a full on sobbing fit. "It's obvious that you did something to her!"

"Or maybe she's fucking like this because we're being chased by a muscle-bound psycho bitch!" Mondo yells, giving her the finger with the hand that isn't holding Chihiro to him.

"You are the only muscle-bound psychopath here!" Sakura says in response, seething. "I'll be sure to beat you so badly that you won't look at a girl the same way ever again!"

Before Mondo can reply, I yell out. "Okay, stop it now!" I say in a voice that surprises even me. This gets them both to stop. Even Byakuya turns my way with a raised eyebrow.

I turn to Sakura. "Instead of beating the crap out of him, why don't we all calm down and listen to what Chihiro has to say about all of this?" She pauses a moment before nodding her assent, and I walk over to Chihiro and Mondo.

"Mondo, can you let Chihiro down please?" Without saying anything, he bends down enough for Chihiro's feet to touch the ground and lets go of his waist. With both feet firmly on the ground, he grabs the hem of his skirt and looks down.

"Now Chihiro, can you please explain what happened?" I say in as calm of a voice as I can. He looks up at me with watery eyes and I offer him a smile.

"W-well…" He begins. "It's all my fault this happened. I dragged Mondo to the bathroom because he hurt his hands really badly trying to pull off one of the metal plates, and I wanted to get them cleaned up…" I look to Mondo and he holds up both of his hands, which are wrapped tightly with a cloth of some sort. Chihiro sniffles and continues. "As we were leaving Sakura saw us and got so angry. I wanted to say something, but she started yelling at Mondo right off the bat and I just…couldn't. I'm so sorry!" At this point tears are freely falling down his face, and I look behind my shoulder to see Sakura approaching.

"Chihiro… I am truly sorry." She hands him a napkin, and he gratefully accepts it. "I should not have assumed that he was doing anything wrong, it is my fault for jumping to conclusions." She then turns to Mondo. "I must apologize to you as well Mondo. Forgive my sudden outburst." With that, she bows deeply to them both.

Chihiro is the first to say something. "I-it's okay Sakura." She looks up and he offers her a small smile. "I know you meant well."

"Well…" Mondo says. "I guess I forgive ya too. If I were to see the same thing I'd probably assume the same thing as you." He then glares at her. "But if there's one thing you need to know about me, it's that I'd never force anyone to do something like that. It's fucked up."

Saying this, he offers her a hand. She straightens herself and takes it, giving him a small smile. "Right. I will do better not to pre-judge people from now on."

He grins back at her. "Damn straight you will!" And with that, they shake hands. "But man, I hafta ask ya, how did you get so jacked? What's your secret?"

She crosses her arms and smiles. "I'll only share my techniques if you share yours. Clearly whatever you're doing is working out very well for you."

As they make their way across the dining hall to discuss workout techniques, I can't help but think how funny it is that Mondo can go from hating someone to liking them so quickly. _"I guess it's an admirable trait…?" _As I stare dubiously at the odd pair, I feel a tap on my shoulder.

"Uhm… Makoto?" I look behind me to see Chihiro looking at me. "Do you think we could talk for a second…?"

"Sure." I say with a smile and turn towards him fully. "What is it?"

He pokes his fingers together in a cute fashion and speaks. "I want to thank you for what you did. I would have hated for Mondo and Sakura to get into a fight on my behalf, and it's thanks to you that it didn't happen…" He trails off.

"Well it was only because you told Sakura what really happened Chihiro. I wouldn't have been able to stop them if they actually had started fighting." I say, waving him off. "I didn't really do much."

He holds his fist to his chest and speaks. "But you did! I wouldn't have been able to say anything at all if you hadn't given me a chance!" He looks at me with a serious expression. "It's amazing how tough you were!"

I scratch the back of my head. "How about we just say we're both tough? Me for stopping them and you for telling her the truth?" I offer with a small smile. It's obvious I'm not going to be able to convince him that he helped otherwise.

He looks hesitant for a minute before agreeing. "Alright. We're both tough then." He says with a small smile. I grin back at him.

Just as I'm about say something else, something occurs to me. "Hey Chihiro? Wasn't Hina with Sakura?"

He tilts his head to the side. "I think so… but I don't think she followed us when Sakura began her chase."

"Huh. I wonder where she is then…?"

* * *

><p>Hina's P.o.V:<p>

"Sakura? Sakuraaa?" I call. Huh. I wonder where she went?

I was following her for a while when she started chasing that big guy, but I lost her when I spaced out for a minute… boo.

With nothing better to do, I go back to the dorms. Sakura and I were looking around there earlier, and I saw a room with my name on it. I wanna go check it out!

As I dash through the school and make my way into the dorm area, I pause by the dining hall when I hear yelling. "Guess I found her!" I giggle. "I'll go talk to her after I look at my room though!"

I dash down the hall where all the rooms are, but collide with someone just as I'm about to get to my room.

"Ooof!" I squeak when my butt hits the floor. Who the heck ran into me!? I look up to find out the answer and see the red-headed guy sprawled out on the floor.

"Ahh man, what the hell!?" He yells, clutching his head.

I jump up to help him. "Sorry red-head guy! I wasn't watching where I was going." I offer him a hand and he takes it. "Are you alright?"

He dusts off his pants. "Yeah I'm all right- wait. Did you just call me 'red-head guy'?"

I scratch the back of my head. "Errrr. Yeah?"

He smacks his forehead. "My name is Leon! Did you seriously forget Hina?" He looks at me, exasperated.

"I'm sorry! I really didn't mean to forget! I'll memorize it right now!" I start tracing the letters of his name into my hand.

He quirks an eyebrow. "What are you doing now?"

I roll my eyes at him. "Isn't it obvious!? If you write someone's name down three times, you're sure to remember it!" Saying this, I continue to trace the letters until I've done it three times, and he gives me a dumbstruck look.

"Does that _seriously_ help you remember?"

"Well yeah!" I chirp. "If it didn't, would I seriously keep doing it?" He shoots me the kind of look that says "uh, duh?" before continuing.

"Whatever… why were you in such a damn hurry anyway?"

"Oh yeah!" I say, remembering. "I was gonna go check out my room before meeting up with Sakura in the dining hall… what were _you_ doing?" I give him a dubious look.

"I just got done looking at my room actually. It's nothing special, but I'm sorta surprised that it actually has some of my stuff in there." He says, scratching the back of his head. "Like stuff I hadn't even brought with me earlier."

My eyes widen in surprise. "Really!? I wonder how they managed to pull that off…?"

"I dunno girlie, but what I do know is that I'm starving. I'm gonna head to the caf." He starts to walk off, but I stop him.

"Hey, mind if I come with ya?"

He looks confused for a second, but nods. "I thought you were gonna check out your room though?"

"Well I was gonna…" I shoot him a serious look. "But something more important has come up."

"That being…?"

"Donuts." I deadpan.

…

"What?" He says slack jawed.

"Donuts!" I repeat. "Are there any donuts here!? I might not survive here if they don't have any!" I say, dead serious.

"Er…" he starts. "Couldn't you just make some if there aren't any?"

"NO!" I shout. "The last time I did ended with my kitchen being on fire!" I grab his hand and drag him along. "Come on, come on! I've gotta know…!"

"Ow..! Hey Hina, let go of my wrist!"

* * *

><p>Makoto's P.o.V:<p>

As I chat happily with Chihiro, all of the others start to filter in slowly but surely. The last two to arrive are Hina, who is looking oddly determined, and Leon, who is currently being dragged by his wrist. Chihiro and I share a look of confusion, and just as I'm about to disregard it, I hear Hina shout.

"OH THANK GOD!"

She darts out of the kitchen still dragging Leon and shouts at us. "Don't worry everyone!" She says, grinning happily and holding her and Leon's hands up in the air. The look on his face is a cross of being exasperated and irritated. "We have donuts!"

"Upupupu, you all have more than donuts girlie!" Monokuma says, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. We all jump to attention. "The kitchen is fully stocked with all of the freshest and finest ingredients on the market, all of which are delivered on a weekly to daily basis, depending on what it is!" He cheers.

"Are the donuts daily!?" She asks, shooting the most intense look possible at Monokuma. Is her mouth foaming?

Oddly enough, he seems to be disturbed at this. "…yeah they are!" I hear him mumble something along the lines of "At least now they are…" before he disappears.

Huh.

"Well, now that _that_ disturbing display is over with," Celes says, breaking the stunned silence. "Why don't we all share what we've found out?"

"Well," I start. "Byakuya and I managed to convince Monokuma to open the bath house up!" I say, grinning. Of course they don't know the actual reason we had it opened, so I have to act excited about it.

"Really bro?" Mondo asks, amazed. "That's awesome! What's all in there?"

"Well," I start. "It's actually really big! When you first walk in there's an area full of lockers so you can change, and then there's a door that leads into a massive bath! Plus as you go farther in, there's a sauna for us to use!" I say with feigned excitement. Of course I already knew what was in there, so it wasn't nearly as cool as it was the first time. Everyone else seems excited at least.

Some more so than others.

"Uhuhu… a communal bath you say?" Hifumi starts. "Sounds interesting! Very interesting indeed! I-"

With a completely neutral expression, Kyoko cuts in before he can continue. "I suggest we impose a bathing schedule. All in favor?"

The 'I's' were near unanimous.

Hifumi looks like a kicked puppy. "What? Did it really look like I was going to do something bad? I wasn't!" He then strikes a pose. "_My_ interests lie only in the two-dimensional!"

Ignoring him, she continues. "The girl's official bathing times will be from four to six, and the guy's will be from six to eight. Any other time is free game. There will be no mercy to be had if someone of the opposite gender enters during a designated time. Does this sound acceptable?"

The responses were all different forms of assent, with the exception of a pouty 'whatever' from Hifumi.

"Very well, it's official then." She nods. "What else?"

As they all begin to relay information that I've heard before, I can't help but think about how much more relaxed the atmosphere is without Byakuya antagonizing everyone. _"Around this time the last time I went through this, he was as much of a flaming ass as possible to everyone..."_

Of course he still _is_ an ass, just a more tactful and considerate one.

"_It really is calm right now though." _I think. "_It's not really gonna last long, so I should enjoy it while it lasts."_

But of course as soon as I think that, Celes' voice breaks me out of my thoughts.

"I think that some of you may not have realized the gravity of the situation we're in." She says flatly. "From what we've all discovered, it would seem that we are effectively trapped in here, for an indeterminate amount of time. There is no way to escape."

And just like that, all of the playful banter stops.

"Not yet." I say, in an effort to restore some hope. "This is only the first floor guys… we may find out more if we gain access to the other areas of the school."

"And how," Celes says, "Would you propose we go about that?"

This stops me short. "I'm not sure… but surely he won't keep us confined on a single floor is this really _is_ the academy. He'll probably get bored with us doing the same thing all the time."

"I suppose you may have a point." She allows. "But it still does not change the fact that we're stuck here at this point in time, and for what seems to be a long time to come." She pauses and casts her unusual red gaze across the crowd before speaking again. "If we are to survive here, we must adapt to our situation."

Mondo scoffs at this. "Well if you hadn't noticed girlie, that's what we were sorta doing until you went full-out bitchface on us." This seems to catch her off guard, as her eyes widen just a fraction before she falls silent for a moment.

"So you're all truly okay with staying here?" She asks, with an edge in her voice.

"Well, I mean," Hina starts. "It's not like it's all bad here… at least we'll be comfortable until we really _can_ find a way to get out of here."

"I agree!" Taka shouts. "As prisoners, we could have much worse accommodations!"

But just then, a normally silent Toko speaks up. "W-well, you all seem to be forgetting that there _is_ a way to leave here…"

I fight the urge to smack my hand on my forehead. _"Damn it Toko! Why did you have to bring that up!?"_

Just as everyone begins to rev up for a heated debate about whether or not someone would actually murder someone else, Byakuya's cool voice breaks through the tension.

"Are you stupid? Why would anyone do something so desperate as to commit murder for such an obscure clause?"

A blush covers her face, and her mouth curls into a creepy smile. "D-don't call me stupid."

Sayaka speaks up this time, tilting her head to the side. "What do you mean by obscure?" Byakuya doesn't even attempt to cover his sneer at her words.

"Have you even stopped to think about what would happen to a blackened if their crime is discovered? It would seem that this "graduation clause" is heavily reliant on the fact that you _aren't_ found out. Why would anyone risk taking another person's life when we haven't even seen if there was another way to escape?"

This stops everyone dead in their tracks. He continues.

"The fact of the matter is that _none _of us should act rashly, because _none _of us know the consequences. Anyone who would stoop so low as to do that is not only brain-dead, but disgusting as well." He finishes with that, and takes a moment to push up his glasses.

"_Damn." _I think, impressed. _"It's pretty nice to see him being an ass in a constructive way for once." _I decide to help push this topic of conversation along.

"I guess that makes sense." I say, pretending to consider his words. "If we all just remain rational about this, I'm sure we'll find a way out without anything bad happening."

"Damn straight!" Mondo yells. "There's no point in doing something that shitty! Besides, that's exactly what that asshole bear wants us to do!"

Chihiro is the next to speak. "Y-yeah! If someone does end up doing _that_, then they'd be really weak-willed! We've all got to be strong right now!"

Celes' voice cuts in. "In that case, do you all mind if I make a suggestion? A self-imposed rule if you will." She pauses for a moment. "I feel like we should all limit our activity during "nighttime". Most people will be asleep, so to eliminate any…_temptation_ to act rashly, we should all make an effort to stay in our rooms."

I'm the first to speak. "I don't have an issue with it. All anyone should be doing around that time is sleeping anyway, so there really isn't much reason to leave your room." I finish, nodding.

"Well, I mean… I guess it would be okay." Mukuro says, fiddling with the ends of her hair. "It's reasonable enough."

Taka is the next to reply. "Very well! On behalf of everyone else here, I agree as well!" He doesn't seem to notice the dubious glares that get sent his way.

With a giggle, Celes replies. "Very well. Let it be known as an unofficial rule from now on." She then turns to leave.

Chihiro speaks up. "Uhm, Celes? Where are you going?" She turns back and offers him a smile, though it's not kind.

"It's almost nighttime now. I'd like to shower before the water cuts off for the night." She then sweeps out of the room without another word.

Mukuro stretches her arms behind her head. "That's probably not a bad idea. I think I'll go shower too."

"Very well!" Taka shouts. "For now, this meeting is adjourned! We all shall reconvene in the morning to continue our search!"

With that, we all exit the dining room.

* * *

><p>As I enter my room, I dully note that there isn't anything different about it. Of course.<p>

I flop down on the bed and run over what had happened at the meeting. Surprisingly enough, Byakuya's behavior seemed to affect everyone positively this time.

"_I guess it makes sense though. Without having some pompous ass agitating every one and talking about murdering someone every five seconds, it's a lot easier to remain optimistic."_

I pop off of the bed to go take a shower, but just then Monokuma appears out of nowhere, startling me.

"Hold on there Mr. Makoto!" He says. "Have you tried to get into your bathroom yet?"

"No I haven't. Why?" I ask with feigned innocence. He then proceeds to say that my door is broken, and "teaches" me the trick to opening it.

"Upupupu! It's so ironic that the ultimate lucky student is the only one who got stuck with a bad door! It's positively leaving me in stitches!" Before I get a chance to comment on the bad stuffed animal pun, he vanishes.

I sigh. _"Whatever."_ I make my way to the bathroom and take a quick shower. Once I'm done I quickly put on clothes and lay down to sleep.

As I'm dozing off, one lone thought circles around my head…

"_What's going to happen next?"_

* * *

><p>The next several days are actually completely uneventful. The first motive is taking longer to arrive than last time, and I can't help but feel a strange mix of boredom and anxiousness.<p>

With nothing better to do, I spent my time getting to know all of my friends all over again. I ended up spending a little time with a lot of people, but most of my time was split between either Mondo, Chihiro or Sayaka.

For some reason, after I helped him out of the Sakura situation, Chihiro seemed to want to hang out with me quite a bit. We ended up becoming pretty close… Not that we weren't good friends last time, but this time we ended up bonding a lot more in a much shorter period. Instead of the awkward wave I would receive in passing last time, he'd openly grin and come over to talk. He's a really sweet guy once he opens up.

On the flip side of that however, my time with Sayaka was dull at best. Most of it was repeats of what we talked about before, and what wasn't was her talking about her career and bandmates. Ordinarily I would think it would be interesting, but most of it was gossip and her complaining about her manager. She seemed different from the way I remembered her.

And Mondo…was Mondo. Never a dull moment.

There were a few people I made a conscious effort to avoid however… Ever since the incident in the dining hall with Byakuya, I'd get this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach whenever I'd try talking to him. Needless to say it wasn't comfortable… but not nearly as uncomfortable as when I tried to talk to Kyoko.

How do you handle talking to your best friend when they don't remember the fact that you _are_ best friends? All of the walls that were broken, all the trust built… is just gone. I just couldn't handle it… so I'd duck out whenever she was nearby.

"_I'm such a wuss_!" I think somberly. _"Not even being able to talk to your best friend?! What's it matter if she can't remember?"_

"Hey Makoto? Are you alright?" I get snapped out of my thoughts by Chihiro waving his hand in front of my face.

"Ahaha, yeah sorry! I sorta spaced out for a minute there didn't I?" I reply, shooting him a lopsided grin. He smiles back.

"Well pay attention! We have to keep score you know!" He pokes my side.

I laugh. "I know, I know! Mondo would be on our asses if we messed up."

Right now Chihiro and I are sitting on the bleachers of the gym watching a very heated dodgeball game. Taka had suggested it as a way to vent our frustrations from not being able to escape, and from the looks of it people are _very_ frustrated. On the right side is Mondo's team, consisting of Kyoko, Sakura, Hiro, Hina, and Toko. On the left is Leon, Celes, Hifumi, Sayaka, and Mukuro, who are all being led by Taka. How these team arrangements came about I'll never know, but what matters right now is the fact that they seem to be evenly matched.

The weird thing about all this is that Monokuma is sitting in a large referee's chair across the gym from us. When asked what he was doing here, he just waved us off and said that it was the headmaster's job to monitor student activities. Yeah right!

"_He probably just wants to see someone's teeth get knocked out." _I think with a slight grimace. _"Junko probably just wanted a front row seat to the carnage… though it's sad that I'm thinking of them as two separate things…" _

I turn to Chihiro to distract myself from those thoughts. "Ya know Chihiro, I don't think this is gonna end anytime soon." I say scratching the back of my head. I watch Mondo drill a dodgeball into Hifumi's face and narrowly miss getting hit by Leon. "They're sort of at a deadlock."

He giggles and nods in agreement. "It sorta seems like that huh? Maybe we should go to the dining hall and get some refreshments for everyone. I don't really think they're going to notice our absence." He winces when Mukuro gets Toko out with one to the gut.

"Alright then, let's go! I was getting restless anyway." I say, standing. I stretch my hands behind my head. Chihiro smiles at me and follows me out of the gym.

We chat happily as we make our way through the school. After a short walk, we finally reach the dorm area.

"What kinds of things should we get?" I ask. "Nothing too heavy right?"

He puts his finger to his lips and tilts his head to the side. "Ordinarily I'd agree, but Hina would probably throw a fit if we didn't get her any donuts."

I shudder at the thought of a donut-less Hina. "Okay yeah. Definitely donuts." Chihiro only laughs at my reaction as we turn into the dining hall.

When we enter I see Byakuya sitting off in the corner reading with a steaming cup of tea in front of him. Against my better judgment, I call out to him. "Hey Byakuya! What are you doing in here all alone?"

When he notices our arrival he snaps the book shut and stands. He walks over to talk to us.

"I'm taking advantage of the silence." He sighs. "It's hard to read when you're constantly surrounded by idiots shouting and screaming." He runs a hand through his hair. "Are they almost done beating each other to a pulp?"

"It doesn't look like it." Chihiro says, nervous. "They've been locked in a dead heat for a while. No one can seem to knock all of the others out. Makoto and I decided to grab snacks for everyone once they were finished." He offers Byakuya a nervous smile.

"Really?" He looks at me, surprised. "You stopped watching allegedly cute girls long enough to listen to someone?" He quirks an eyebrow.

Okay, so he's still bitter about the whole Sayaka thing. No biggie. "We already talked about this Byakuya." I say, feeling the tic forming on my forehead. "I know what I'm doing."

"Evidently not." He says with a glare. "You're so caught up by the charms of the female physique that you don't listen to anyone around you."

Okay, so something else must be bothering him too… He hasn't been this bitchy for a while. With my annoyance growing, I retort. "What I'm doing has nothing to do with looks- She's. My. Friend."

Chihiro watches our exchange, completely lost. "Uhm, what-"

Before he can even finish his sentence, Byakuya talks over him, his voice rising slightly. "Oh please. The only reason you even talk to people is because they're either much bigger than you and can put you through a wall, or because they're a cute girl."

"_Don't tell me that he's pissed over me avoiding him!?" _I think, anger rising. _"After what he pulled on me he should have damn well expected it! Who the hell does he think he is!?"_

Before I can even think about the words that are coming out of my mouth, I yell out.

"Oh really!? Then why do I talk to Chihiro, huh? He's not bigger than me _or_ a girl!"

…

My eyes widen as I process what I just said. I turn towards Chihiro in alarm to see that he's standing there completely shocked.

"W-what did you just say…?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Oh no, Makoto let it slip! See, that's why you shouldn't talk when you're angry! Just to clarify though, Byakuya was being butthurt over Makoto avoiding him. I mean, how would you act if your crush suddenly stopped talking to ya and then just randomly started again? I'd be pissed.  
><strong>

**I've gotta say though, this story is sorta going in a completely different direction than what I'd initially anticipated. . w. I can't help but feel its too silly in some parts.**

**Anyway, that's all my notes for now! Thanks guys!**


	6. Chapter 5: Gotta catch 'em all!

Chapter 5: Gotta catch em all!

Makoto's P.o.V:

"W-what did you just say…?"

Chihiro looks at me on the verge of crying, dumbstruck. _"Holy shit, what did I just do!?"_

"Uhm, I'm sorry Chihiro, I just sorta misspoke!" I say, trying to undo the damage I caused. He shakes his head furiously.

"No! No you didn't, you _know_! You said it without any hesitation! How do you know about that..?" He retorts, voice shaking. "There isn't any possible way I let it slip!"

With a guilty look on his face, Byakuya tries to intervene. "Look, Chihiro, if you just calm down for a moment-" He cuts him off.

"I will _not_ calm down!" He says, with tears freely falling down his cheeks. "You obviously know too! Why… Why do you both know about me?!" He tries and fails to suppress a sob, and tightly clutches his skirt, shaking.

I run my hand over my forehead. _"Jeez… I just royally messed this up."_

I share a look with Byakuya and realize that there's only one way that we're going to be able to get out of this… and it's not gonna be pretty.

I walk over to Chihiro who's gone into a full on sobbing fit. I place a hand on his shoulder and he launches himself into my chest, clinging to me. I give him a loose hug in return and let him cry for a few more moments before I peel him away.

"We obviously need to explain ourselves to you…" I say with a sigh. "But we can't talk here. Come with us for a bit, please?" He looks hesitant for a moment before nodding, and I lead him out of the dining hall.

* * *

><p>As we enter the bath house, Chihiro shoots me a questioning look. "Why in here?"<p>

"Well…" I start. "There aren't any security cameras here. I know Monokuma was already in the gym, but it's just a precaution just in case she stops controlling him."

He just looks even more confused now. "Wait, I get that we don't want the mastermind watching us… but what does that have to do with them controlling Monokuma? And 'she'? How do you know they're a girl?"

"We'll get to that." Byakuya says. "But before we start anything, I need you to promise us that you'll remain as calm as possible. What we're about to tell you is nothing if not near impossible to believe, but it is the truth." As he says this he levels a glare on Chihiro, who mutely nods in response.

"Right." I say with a nod. "Since there really isn't any good way to lead into this, I think I'll just say it…"I take a deep breath. "Byakuya and I have been through this once already."

The stunned look I was expecting from him appears on his face. "What? What do you mean you've been through this already?"

"It's just as he said." Byakuya says, nodding. "He and I have already survived this "school life of mutual killing" once before. We don't know why, but just as we were about to escape, we were thrown back to the beginning of all of this."

I nod and add on. "But for some reason only me and him remembered anything!" I pause, sighing. "It was great to see you all alive again, but it's been hell not letting it slip… Especially knowing what's supposed to happen-"

"Wait a moment!" Chihiro says, cutting me off. "How could you possibly expect me to believe that? What you're talking about has no scientific basis!"

Byakuya glares at him. "Your proof is standing right in front of you. Do you want to know the reason we convinced that bear to open up the bath house? It's because we already knew about there not being any cameras in here. It gave Makoto and I a place to talk without catching her attention." He sighs and continues. "Not to mention it's how we were aware of your... secret."

"Plus," I add "Its how I knew about the bomb inside of Monokuma. Last time Kyoko is the one who warned Mondo, so I wouldn't have known otherwise."

He bites the inside of his cheek and stays silent for a few moments before replying. "If I… were to believe what you were saying… That you really have gone through this before… then there are a few questions I have."

Byakuya scoffs. "Only a few?" I shoot him a look and turn to Chihiro, waiting for his questions.

"W-well to start," He says. "Whoever's controlling Monokuma… they can't watch the surveillance cameras at the same time they're controlling him?"

"That's right." I nod. "Up on the fourth floor, there's an entire room dedicated to controlling Monokuma. Apparently his system really _is_ complex."

He nods at this. "Alright then, that makes sense." He takes a breath. "Next question... How did we all get trapped here? We were only out for an hour, so how could all of these modifications have taken place in such a short amount of time?"

I clear my throat in preparation for a long explanation, and begin to tell him about how it _wasn't_ actually only an hour, but that we had two whole years of our lives wiped out from our memories. I then proceed to tell him about the Tragedy, and that we were actually the ones to modify the school to protect ourselves. Of course he experiences the same panic and disbelief that we initially did, but he quickly calms down.

"A-alright." He says, wiping tears from his eyes. "So assuming all of that is true, how did the mastermind manage to take over the school?"

Byakuya is the one to explain this time. "We aren't sure of how she did it ourselves… what we do know is that she and her sister were actually in our class, and that this all was planned from the very beginning… The tragedy, the mutual killings… all of it."

"So wait!" Chihiro says, panicked. "Does that mean the mastermind is with us right now?

I sigh. "Well… yes and no." He raises an eyebrow in question. "Her sister is actually posing as her right now, but what she doesn't know is that she's going to be killed in order to delay us from finding out who the mastermind is later…"

"Well then, who is she?" He asks, looking scared.

I look off to the side. "Junko Enoshima. Her sister's name is Mukuro Ikusaba, the ultimate soldier… she's the one we're all getting to "know" right now." I use air quotes for emphasis.

He looks shocked. "Junko is!? But why?"

"Her motivations are to cause us and everyone else to despair as much as possible." Byakuya replies simply. "She watched in amusement as people fought and killed each other off, and reveled in the sorrow each death caused."

Chihiro remains silent for a few moments before asking a question so quietly I almost didn't hear it. "How many of us ended up dying?"

I bite my lip. "Only six of us survived." I mumble "Me, Byakuya, Kyoko, Hiro, Toko, and Hina… everyone else was either killed or executed."

This information hits him like a ton of bricks. "Executed!? Is that what happens when someone gets caught…?"

I nod my head, frowning.

"It was awful. Watching your friends die off one by one with no way to stop it…" I trail off, and glare hard at the floor. "It was pure _hell_. But I vowed to live on and escape for everyone who lost their lives… though I almost didn't."

After several beats of silence, he nervously asks a question I was hoping to avoid. "So… who ended up killing me?"

I shoot him a sad look. He didn't even consider being executed. "I don't think I should tell you that."

He looks at me, agitated. "But why not? Shouldn't I avoid them so it doesn't happen again? I wouldn't want someone to die because of me!"

"Because it wasn't his fault." I shake my head. "Your death was the only one that I can honestly say that someone regretted. Once we fingered him, he came clean and accepted his punishment." Chihiro looks up at me, stunned. "He only did it in a fit of rage because of the motive Monokuma gave us… I've already been thinking of ways to prevent it, because it should be the easiest to stop."

"Motive…?" He asks, holding back fresh tears. "So Junko is going to give us incentive to murder eachother!? That's… just so cruel."

"It is." Byakuya says. "The first motive should be given to us very soon… but we're going to try our best to prevent the first murder from ever happening. It's my theory that Junko will get bored with us and reveal herself if no murders occur… so I'd like to prevent as much death as possible."

Chihiro seems to accept this, but then he twitches as something occurs to him. "What do you mean "as possible"..?"

With a sigh, I run my hand through my hair. "Remember how I told you that last time it was Kyoko that warned Mondo about the bomb, and not me?" He nods. "We think that people may not react to things the exact same way they did last time…"

He considers this for a moment before replying. "I… think I understand that. It's like a visual novel style game; the different choices you make effect how the characters around you reply." He nods slightly. "So it would make sense that people would react differently to certain stimuli given the chance. They wouldn't necessarily have to make the same choices, or maybe those choices wouldn't even occur to them?"

I let out a nervous laugh. "Ehehe… I guess that's one way to look at it?"

Chihiro tilts his head to the side. "I think I may understand the gist of it at this point…" He fists his hands together, letting out a shaky breath. He looks to be on the verge of tears again, so I offer him a tissue. He takes it. "I'm sorry… It's just a lot to swallow at once…" He sniffles. "Do you think we can save the person who killed me? And everyone else?"

I offer him a small smile. "I think our odds are better now that you know in all honesty." He blows his nose and offers me a teary smile.

"I think I should go back to my room for a while…" He says, sighing. "I still have a few things I want to ask, but I'll save them for later, I don't think I can handle much else right now." I nod.

"That's probably a good idea." I grin down at him, relieved he didn't react nearly as badly as I anticipated. "If anyone asks I'll say that you weren't feeling well and wanted to lie down for a while."

He smiles slightly and pulls me into a hug. "Thanks… for not hating me." Before I can reply, he quickly sweeps out of the room.

I stare at the doorway for a minute after he leaves, until I hear Byakuya clear his throat. "Ah… Makoto?" I turn to face him fully. "I must apologize for my actions earlier… had I not been so agitated, we might not have had to go through that."

I can only shake my head at him. "No, I'm the one that's gotta apologize." I say with a sigh. "I shouldn't have been avoiding you like I was. I was just… being a child I guess."

He quirks an eyebrow. "About what?"

"_Oh come on, don't ask me that!" _I feel the heat pooling in my cheeks.

"Well it's just that… whenever I tried to talk to you…" I trail off. Is he really gonna make me admit something I don't even understand myself!?

"Spit it out." He says, irritated.

Apparently he is. I mumble the answer hoping I can get away with it, but it doesn't get past him.

"Speak louder." He demands. Fed up, I speak at a borderline yell.

"I _said,_ every time I tried to talk to you I'd get a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach!" I plop down on the bench and sigh. "It's been like this ever since you told me that you'd protect me that day in the dining hall..."

He looks stunned for a moment, before a fiendish smirk works his way on to his lips.

"Oh?" He says, evil glint in his eye. "What kind of "weird feeling"?"

"I-I dunno!" I say, indignant. He looks at me for a moment silently expecting an answer. I groan and reply. "I seriously don't _know_! If I had to describe it, it's kind of like the feeling I get whenever Sayaka smiles at me, but… I dunno, worse?" At these words he falls silent as he contemplates something.

"_Ah man, this sucks!" _I scream internally_. "He's gonna make a complete fool out of me at this rate! I know that was a bad explanation, but I don't know how to describe it any other way… ugh. I wish I knew what it was so I could take care of the problem! I don't want to have to ignore my friend over something so stupid…"_

Suddenly, I'm pulled out of my thoughts by a short laugh from Byakuya. "Huh?" Byakuya doesn't laugh… right?

"So you say it's a strange feeling, right?" He smirks. "In the pit of your stomach?"

"Well… yeah. I wouldn't know how else to describe it." Didn't I already say this? I shoot him a confused look as he walks over to the bench and sits down beside me.

"How bad is it right now?" He asks in a smooth voice.

"Uhm… not that bad I guess? It's there, but kinda quiet?" Where the hell is he going with this?

His smirks grows a little bit as he scoots close enough to me so that our thighs are touching. "And now?" He says in a low voice.

I quickly turn my head away, face blazing. "I-It's a little worse now." I quickly glance back to gauge his reaction. He looks absolutely delighted, the bastard.

"Well then," He starts "let's just see what happens when I do… this." I'm only left wondering what he means for a split second before he quickly and on purpose lowers his head… and licks my neck.

I let out a noise that I didn't know I was capable of making and my hand flies to my mouth. _"W-what the hell!?" _I quickly hop off of the bench and look down at Byakuya, who has the absolute most arrogant smirk playing on his face at the moment.

"I've discovered your problem Makoto." He quickly brushes off his pants and stands. "You want me."

"W-what?" I sputter, dumbstruck. What does he mean by that?

"You heard me." He says, crossing his arms. "It's become clear to me now that you're attracted to me, even though you yourself haven't realized it yet."

I look at him with wide eyes. "I'm attracted to you? B-but you're a guy! And I'm a guy too!"

He rolls his eyes. "Obviously." He takes a step forward. "Do you need me to do something else to prove it to you?" He whispers in a low voice, smirking.

He's close. Way, way too close. "I-I've gotta go." I fumble out, head spinning. I try to get out of there as quickly as I can, but I end up running into the door frame before actually making it out of there. Ignoring the pain, I rush into the school area, trying to put as much distance between Byakuya and I as possible.

Once past the classrooms, I notice something red dripping on the ground. I touch just below my nose and discover that I've gotten a wicked nosebleed. _"Shit." _I dash to the bathroom to grab a couple of paper towels before continuing my way to the gym. I really can't be alone with my thoughts right now.

As I enter the doors, the scene I walk in to is nothing short of a battlefield. The floorboards are full of holes, the podium has been smashed to bits, and the bleachers don't appear to be usable anymore. "What the hell!?" As I survey the gym, most of my friends are either sitting or lying around the floor, drenched in sweat.

I walk over to Monokuma, who's sitting in the miraculously still intact referee's chair. "What happened in here…?"

He pats my shoulder from his spot in the chair and wipes away an imaginary tear. "Oh Makoto my boy, it was spectacular! After you and Chihiro had left, all hell broke loose! Mondo accused Leon of not going out after he had hit him, and they started duking it out. Pretty soon the teams were disbanded, and it was a free for all of dodgeball carnage!" He puts both his paws on his cheeks. "Upupupu, I'm so delighted by the display that I'm not even mad about having to repair the gym!"

…

I don't even know what's going on anymore!

"Hey bro!" I hear a shout from behind me. I turn to see Mondo waving at me from across the gym. He's only slightly worse for wear, and much better off than most of the people sprawled out all over the place. I make my way across the gym, accidentally stepping on an unconscious Toko on the way.

"Dude," I start, shaking my head. "What the hell did you all _do_? The gym looks like a bomb dropped in it!"

He brushes his slightly sagging pompadour out of the way. "Yeahhhh… we sorta got carried away." He looks at me and points to my nose, where I'm still holding the paper towels. "How the hell did that happen bro? You weren't even in here!"

I look to the side and scratch my head, grateful that my face is already flushed from the nose bleed. "…I sorta wasn't looking where I was going and ran into a door." He looks at me for a second before slapping his leg and letting out a laugh.

"You serious? How the fuck did you manage that?" I only shrug and shake my head in response. "Well whatever, little nose bleed isn't gonna get my bro down." He only stays silent for a moment more before looking around the gym. "Hey, where's Chihiro? Wasn't she with ya?"

"Oh…" I say, biting my cheek. "She wasn't feeling too well, so she went off to her room to rest for a while."

He looks my way concerned. "Is she okay? She didn't get hurt or nuthin right!?"

"No no!" I wave my hand frantically. "She really didn't feel well! I think being here is probably taking a toll on her health."

He looks down and nods slightly at this. "I'm not surprised. It's been taking a fucking toll on all of us." He sighs and quickly hops to his feet. "Imma go check on her."

I look at him and tilt my head to the side. "But why? Wouldn't it be best to let her just sleep it off?"

He shoots me a grin. "Because I'm her hankie!" And with that, he darts out of the gym.

"…_Chihiro's hankie?"_

* * *

><p>Chihiro's P.o.V:<p>

"Haaah." I sigh as I step out of the shower. It was one of the most relaxing ones I've had in a while! It really helped to clear my head about what all Byakuya and Makoto told me about… I think.

With my towel still wrapped around my torso, I make my way to the dresser to put some clothes on. _"I'm not going to be going out for a while… so I think I'll go with something comfy." _I pick out a pale blue tank top with frills on top and a matching pair of shorts. I throw the towel onto the table and quickly dress. Once I am, I hop on the bed and curl up in the covers.

"_It really is a lot to take in at once… I'm sort of surprised I even believe them." _Of course, I don't really have a reason not to believe Makoto… especially since they both know about me.

I smile slightly to myself. _"That's right… he knows. He knows about the terrible lie I've been living, and yet… he still became my friend." _I hug my pillow. _"He doesn't hate me!"_

With those thoughts in mind, I start to doze off… until a loud banging startles me awake.

"Hey Chihiro? You okay in there?" The loud voice calls. My mind is still sorta hazy, but I stumble over to the door to answer it anyway. When I pull it open, the sight that greets me is a very sweaty Mondo.

"Oh my goodness Mondo! You're covered in sweat!" I say hurriedly. "What happened?"

He only stares at me. "Uhm… Mondo?" I wave a hand in front of his face, and he suddenly jolts, with his face turning red.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't think you'd actually be asleep!" He says, turning away slightly.

"Oh it's no issue, I wasn't actually sleeping." I say, offering him a small smile. "What's wrong?"

"Uh, well y'see…" He says, uncharacteristically nervous. "Makoto told me ya weren't feelin too good, so I… wanted to check on ya."

"Ehehe… well thank you Mondo, it means a lot to me that you'd do that." I say, looking up at him. "But really, I'm fine! I was just dealing with some things is all."

"R-right." He says. For whatever reason, he won't meet my gaze. "Uh… ya know, if you want to talk about it, we can."

I consider telling him no for some pretty obvious reasons, but when I think about it I don't really have to be specific… "If you don't mind." I say smiling up at him.

He grins at me, but quickly looks away again. "Nah, I don't mind… but I'd hate to get your room dirty with my sweat, so d'ya mind if I go shower and change real quick?"

"Of course not!" I say, beaming. "I don't mind waiting at all." With that he nods, and walks back towards his room.

While I wait, I can only wonder what has him acting so strangely. _"Did I say something odd?"_ I run through our conversation again in my head to see if I did, but nothing sticks out. _"What on earth is it then…?"_

I don't have to wait long, because in just a few minutes time he returns in his usual garb with his hair looking decidedly less saggy than it was before. I smile at him and open my door wide enough for him to enter. "Come on in."

He nods at me and walks through the door before plopping down on the bed. I close the door and walk over and sit next to him… and he _still_ isn't looking at me.

"Uh, Mondo? Why aren't you looking my way?" I ask, tilting my head to the side. He hesitates for a moment before answering me, still not meeting my eyes.

"It's… your clothes. Ya look good in em and all, but it's… really distracting." He answers, face red. It takes me only a moment to process what he said before my face turns even redder than his.

"I'm so sorry! So, so, so sorry!" I quickly jump off of the bed and make my way to the dresser and pull out a hoodie to cover myself with. It doesn't seem like he actually noticed anything, but it's still uncomfortable.

Once I have it on, I pad my way over to the bed and sit next to him, looking steadily at the floor. I know for a fact my face is still red. "I'm really sorry you had to see me like that." I repeat. "I forgot that I had my sleep clothes on…"

He shakes his head and grins at me. "It's alright girlie. I told you that you looked good in them didn't I?"

I internally sigh. It's not like I want to look good in them! "Yeah you did…" I say, shaking my head.

He seems like he wants to question my reaction, but he lets it slide. "Well anyway, your official hankie is on duty! So lay it on me, what's got ya down?"

I twiddle my thumbs for a moment before answering. "Do you… have a secret? Like something that you wouldn't want anyone to ever know if you had the choice?"

A dark look passes over his face before he answers. "…I guess you could say that. What's a secret got to do with what you're feeling though?"

"Well… Makoto sorta figured out my secret." I say, not quite meeting his eyes.

"He did?" He asks, eyebrow raised. "Do I need to beat the crap outta him? Bro or not, if he made you cry-"

"Not at all!" I say, cutting him off. "Actually… he made me happier than I've been in a long time. He sorta knew about it from the beginning but even so… he didn't hate me! He became my friend knowing what he does about me." I start to tear up a bit. "He really doesn't hate me…"

"Woah, hey hey, don't start crying now!" He quickly grabs a tissue and hands it to me. "I thought you said you were happy?"

"I am…" I say. "But… he's the first person in such a long time not to make fun of me or treat me badly for it! I-I don't know how to react…"

He sits and thinks for a few moments before he slings his arm around my shoulder and pulls me into his chest. My cheeks turn slightly pink. "I may not know what your secret may be Chihiro… but what I do know is that if someone really is your bro, they'll take ya as you are." He nods to himself for a second before continuing. "If he really knew about your secret from the beginning but still decided to be your friend, he's an incredible friend. The kind that people don't make too often."

"Yeah… he really is." I say smiling. "He's probably one of the best friends I've ever had."

We stay like that for a while longer before he finally speaks up again. "So… what exactly is your secret?" He asks, looking down at me. "It couldn't really be that huge right?"

I shake my head. "It's something only my family and a couple of other people actually know about. I've never told anyone about it willingly…" I trail off for a moment before continuing. "But I want to tell everyone here." I say, looking up at him.

This catches him off guard. "Y-ya do? Really? Even me?"

"You especially!" I nod. "Next to Makoto, you're my best friend here!" I take a deep breath. "…I want to but… I need to get a little stronger before I can tell anyone." I say, hugging my arms to myself. "It's the only way I'm going to be able to do it."

He goes quiet for a while as he processes this information. "Get stronger huh…?" He echoes. "Maybe I ought to do a bit of that myself…" He mumbles.

"What?" I ask, having not heard what he said last. He only shakes his head at me and grins.

"Nothin. Hey, how about we go and get some grub huh?" I tilt my head in confusion, but agree anyway.

He grabs my hand and starts to lead me out the door, but I stop him. "A-ah, wait a second Mondo! I can't go out looking like this!" I say, motioning to the large sweatshirt that's currently covering most of my body.

He glances back at me and his cheeks immediately turn pink. "R-right! I'll just go out there and wait then!" He then dashes out the door, shutting it firmly behind him.

I can only smile in the direction he went.

"What a weird guy!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Another one down! This is prolly one of my favorite chapters so far if I'm being honest. The motive is coming in the next chapter y'all! Better prepare yourselves... uwehehehe. See you guys later! c:**


	7. Chapter 6: Digi-Armor, Energize!

Chapter 6: Digi-Armor, Energize!

Makoto's P.o.V:

I'm suddenly jolted out of my sleep by Monokuma's hellish voice.

"Will all students please report to the gym? I repeat, will all students please report to the gym? I have something to tell you all, and I just know you're all gonna love it!"

I sit up with a sigh. I have a feeling about what that announcement was... and it's not pretty. I glance down and see that I'm still wearing yesterday's clothes, and I sigh again. After Mondo had run off, I helped get everyone up from the gym floor and got them all to their rooms… though Sayaka was a little reluctant for me to go. I didn't really want to stay and talk though… I was really tired.

I'm pretty sure it was a combination of what happened yesterday and blood loss, but regardless of why I was so tired, I ended up just falling asleep immediately… and I sort of regret it. I quickly change into fresh clothing and open the door, only to see Byakuya standing out there waiting for me.

My face immediately goes hot. "H-hey Byakuya…" I say in greeting. "Er… any particular reason you're waiting for me…?"

"Obviously." He says, sighing. "You heard the announcement right?" He continues in a low voice. "I need to talk to you after you run off to comfort Sayaka, because I know you will." He finishes with a sneer. "It's extremely important."

"O-okay…" I nod, and he stalks of.

"_What the hell is with him…?" _I think, slightly dazed. _"Is he gonna pretend what he did yesterday never happened? That's not cool!"_

But when I think of that, something occurs to me. What's it matter if he does pretend it didn't happen? Wouldn't it be better if he did?

"_Of course it would… right?" _I can't help but feel it's not right though… to pretend it didn't happen. I smack my cheeks.

"_Now isn't the time to be thinking stupid! I've gotta go to the gym!"_

Everyone else has already gathered into the gym by the time I arrive, and the atmosphere is tense. I walk into the middle of the crowd and stare up at the podium, waiting for Monokuma to appear. It doesn't take long.

He jumps up from behind the podium and strikes a pose. "Oh good, you've all finally arrived!" He says in his grating voice. "I must say, you all have gotta be the most dull people I've ever met! It's been like, five days! Why isn't someone dead yet!?"

"Because!" Taka shouts. "There is no way any of us would kill each other off! We all are much better than that!" Everyone else affirms this.

"Upupupupu!" He chortles, delighted he got the answer he expected. "Well well my children, you won't all be so confident once you see the lovely presents I've prepared for you! Think of them as… incentive." He puts his paws on his cheeks. "You'll find them all in the screening room. Hurry hurry now, I can't wait for you all to see them…!" And with that, he disappears.

"What on earth was all of that about!?" Mukuro asks, seemingly irritated. "He woke us up early for this?"

"It would probably be a good idea to go and see what he's left us." Celes says, putting her hand to her mouth. "Though we can all probably assume that it won't be something pleasant."

As we all filter out of the gym, I'm somewhat relieved that the motive is the same. It makes things much easier to deal with, and it makes it easier to assume the others will all be the same as well. Byakuya shoots me a look that makes me think that he may be thinking the same.

Once I reach the A/V room, I see the very same box that was there previously… filled with the very same DVDs.

"What's in the box Makoto?" Sayaka asks, looking very nervous.

"They're…DVDs." I say, trying to appear confused. "There's one for each of us… I guess we're supposed to watch them." I grab mine and hand Sayaka hers, before I go up to one of the consoles and pop in the video. As much as I don't want to see my home in ruins… I can't attract suspicion by not watching it.

As I watch it I try to focus on the part where I can see Komaru and my parents. I really want to see them again but… I don't even know if they survived the Tragedy. "_The only way I can find out is if I actually escape this time." _I think irritated. My video quickly ends, and I look up to see that everyone else has watched theirs already.

"W-what the fuck was that!?" Mondo says. "That shit wasn't real right?"

"Th-that…" Toko says, panicking. "I can't do this! Let me out of here r-right now!"

As the room quickly falls into discord, Kyoko remains unfazed. "I suppose this is what the bear meant by incentive. He's given us a reason to want to break out to increase the chances of us murdering each other."

"I see!" Celes starts. "It's a classic prisoner's dilemma." Hifumi asks what she means, and she proceeds to explain the concept of the theory. "Monokuma has planted that seed of doubt in all of us that makes us hesitant to lower our guard out of fear of betrayal. I fear that if we don't calm down, we may very well end up self-destructing and someone will die…" She says, appearing crestfallen.

"Then why don't we all talk this out?" Mukuro says, twirling her hair. "It would probably help to tell everyone what was on your video… it might help to lift some of the tension."

"I agree." I say, sighing. "If all of your videos were as brutal as mine, I think talking about it would probably be the best course of action." I turn to Sayaka, who's looking just as spooked as last time. "Hey Sayaka, what was on your video?" She stays silent just like last time.

"W-well?" Toko spits. "Just tell us what was on your damn video already!"

I reach out to her, but she smacks my hand away. "Don't touch me!" She then bolts out the door.

"Wait, Sayaka!" I yell. Just as I'm about to take off after her, it occurs to me that maybe… she needs to be alone right now. Would that keep her from using me as an instrument for murder? I… don't know.

"Shouldn't someone go after her?" Hina asks with a concerned expression. "I'm really worried."

"Honestly, I don't really care what happens to her, p-personally." Toko says.

Mukuro scowls at her. "That's because you're totally heartless!"

After a few beats of silence, I speak up. "…I think she should be alone right now." I say, garnering surprised looks from everyone in the room. Byakuya especially.

"But dude, don't you have a massive hard-on for her?" Leon asks, scratching his head. "I woulda thought you'd have jumped on the chance to comfort her."

I send a glare his way. "I don't have a "hard-on" for her, we're just friends!" Though that may be sort of a lie, the way he said it just made it seem gross.

He rolls his eyes. "Oh, right. Friendzoned. Gotcha." I fight the urge to smack my forehead. "Well if you're such good friends, why don't ya go help her?"

I glance off to the side. "Sometimes… people just need to be alone. I don't think I'd be of much help to her right now in all honesty."

I pause for a second before facing everyone. "Besides, I think it would be best for us to clear the animosity with the majority first. Letting all of this tension brew is a recipe for disaster."

"…He's right." Kyoko says, a little reluctant. "If we leave things as they are there's no way we'll come out unscathed."

"Very well." Byakuya says, agreeing. "I think it would be best that we go around the room and say what we saw. Anyone who refuses will immediately become a person of interest." He glances at me. "You should start… it was your idea."

"Right." I sigh. "…It was my family. In the beginning, they were sitting there happily, but then…" I take a deep breath. "The house was in ruins. I was told I would find out what happened to them after graduation."

As we take turns going around the room, it turns out that families were the subject of most of the videos, including Mukuro's... though I feel like she was probably lying.

When it gets to be Mondo's turn, he looks ready to punch a wall. "It was my gang… they were all hootin' and hollerin' one moment, and the next… they were all down on the ground." He yells. "There's no fuckin' way they all got beat so easily…! No fucking way in hell…"

Next, Hifumi pipes up. "I-it was my collection. It was shining and glorious, but then suddenly my room was gutted! Oh, I don't even want to think of it anymore…! What happened to my babies!?" He goes into a fit of hysterics, and everyone pointedly ignores him.

Finally, all eyes fall to Celes, who's the only one who hasn't shared yet. It's very subtle, but she appears to be the tiniest bit uncomfortable. "Must I…?"

"Uh yeah!" Mukuro yells. "We all spilled our guts, so you should spill yours."

"I don't recall agreeing to such a thing… but very well." She takes a deep breath. "It was my life savings. One million dollars. There one moment, but then… it was gone." She bites her nail. "It was all in a top of the line safe though! How did that little bitch of a mastermind work their way in there…!?"

Her mask slips for a moment before she goes back to that overly sweet façade. "Oh, pardon my French. Are we quite finished here? I have my own things I'd like to attend to." Not even waiting for a response, she strides out of the room.

Mondo snorts. "She's pleasant."

Taka chimes in. "I have to disagree Mondo! I feel like she was rather unpleasant just now actually!"

"Brows, are you being serious right now?" Mukuro asks in disbelief.

"Very! It was extremely rude to leave in such a manner after speaking so crudely!"

Oh Taka… you poor social invalid.

"Okay, no, that's not gonna fly Brows." She grabs his collar and starts to drag him off. "You and I are going to have a lesson in sarcasm, okay? Okay." She pushes the door open with her foot and exits with a confused Taka.

I shake my head. At least the tension has almost completely dissolved… talking it out really did help a lot.

I crack my neck. "Whelp, that was irritating. I can't believe he wants us to kill each other over videos he made for the sole purpose of turning us against each other… I mean come on! They're probably fake."

"Right?" Hina says. "We've only been gone for a few days, there's no way they got to all of our families!"

While everyone starts chattering about the videos, I have a thought that they may not be entirely fake… But I can't tell them that. Then things would be just as bad as before! I slip out of the room unnoticed.

As I walk down the hall, I see someone who I hadn't expected to see: Sayaka. I call out to her. "Hey Sayaka! Are you alright?" She turns my way and offers me a sad smile.

"Not really Makoto… that video was so scary… I just sorta freaked out, I'm so sorry!" She says, hugging me. My face feels hot. "You… you'll be there for me right? I don't think I can make it through this without you…"

I peel her away and smile at her. "Of course! We're friends after all, I'll stick by you… you're free to come by my room any time if you want to talk about it."

She looks up at me with teary eyes. "R-really? Thank you so much Makoto! You're such a good friend…"

"Of course!" I say, grinning, "I'll do anything for my friends."

She smiles and thanks me one last time before running off. _"I think giving her space this time really did help!"_ Who knew that would be a solution? I sigh and stretch, feeling tired all of a sudden.

With nothing else to do I make my way back to my room for a nap. I'm asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

* * *

><p>For the second time today, I'm startled awake by a loud noise. I look around in a daze before realizing that someone is buzzing the doorbell. I yawn and walk over to the door, opening it and peeking out. The sight of a very impatient Byakuya greets me.<p>

"You certainly took your time." He says, opening the door and walking in. "I must have been pressing the buzzer for a good five minutes!"

Still not fully awake, I close the door and look at him. "Mmmph... Byakuya, what time is it…?" I yawn again and sit down on the bed.

"It's eleven-thirty." He says simply, pulling out a book from his pocket and sitting down next to me. He cracks it open and starts reading, ignoring the stupefied look on my face.

"What are you doing in here?" I ask, stunned. He rolls his eyes and looks up from his book.

"I had told you earlier that I needed to talk to you, but you never showed up." He says glaring. "Though I was pleasantly surprised you hadn't followed that Sayaka girl, I still had something I needed to speak with you about."

"My bad about forgetting to talk to you, I sorta ended up falling asleep…" I say, sheepish. "What is it that you needed to talk to me about?"

"What I'm doing right now." He says, raising an eyebrow. I must look as confused as I feel, because he continues. "I'm staying in here tonight."

"…why?" I ask, still tired.

"Regardless of what happened earlier, I don't want to risk you foolishly answering to her whims. I'm staying in here as an insurance policy so that you don't." Saying this, he returns to his book.

I'm… way too tired to deal with this. "Whatever…" I say, irritated. I crawl back under the covers and turn to go to sleep again, doing my best to ignore his presence. It comes to me faster than I would have expected.

* * *

><p>I wake up again around two in the morning, and see that Byakuya is sound asleep at the foot of the bed. I stretch, and not two seconds later the buzzer to my room sounds again. I trot over to quickly answer it, so it doesn't wake up Byakuya. I see Sayaka standing there with a soft smile on her face, both hands behind her back.<p>

"Sayaka!" I say, surprised. "What's wrong? It's really late." I step out of the door frame and look at her, concerned.

"Well…" she says, fidgeting. "I-I was having a really hard time sleeping. Do you think you could come back to my room with me for a little bit?"

…Something isn't right. "U-uhm, what for Sayaka? See, cause, Byakuya and I were having a little… sleep over… and it doesn't seem right for me to just leave him in here." As I say this, her expression goes from a smile to blank in an instant.

"…Just come with me. Now." She says, pulling a kitchen knife from behind her back. My eyes go wide.

"S-Sayaka!? What are you doing?" I say panicking. Her answer is a wide-arc slash downward, slicing a neat line down my left arm. The pain is immediate, and my lone thought is to get away from the door. I can't be cornered right now. I dodge another slash from her when I launch my way toward the main dorm area.

I grip my arm with the undamaged one in an attempt to stifle the blood flow. "Sayaka… why? Why are you doing this!?"

Her face remains completely blank as she answers me. "I… need to get out Makoto. My bandmates… they need me. They can't do shit without me…! I won't allow my career to be destroyed!" She takes a step closer to me. "You said you'd do anything for your friends Makoto… so please, won't you just die for me?"

"And how do you plan on getting away with it?" I say, spitting. I'm starting to feel light headed, whether it's from the situation or the blood dripping from my arm I'm not sure.

"You see… it's very easy." She says, plastering on a smile. "You came to me in the middle of the night and attacked me with a kitchen knife… and I had no other choice but to defend myself." She frowns. "But during the struggle, you fall over and impale yourself on your own weapon! How sad! Your death will be ruled an accident, and no one will ever know…" She smiles again, this time a manic looking one.

Seeing a dangerous look in her eye, I turn to run, but I stumble and slam into someone's door. She walks over slowly, still smiling. "Now Makoto… you can't fall over onto a knife if you're on the ground! You should know better, silly boy!"

Seriously in pain, I force myself up, bracing myself on the wall. I slide slowly backwards, but I know at this point that she has the upper hand. She's probably going to kill me.

"_Sorry Byakuya… I should have listened to you… It looks like it'll be up to you to save everyone."_ I think, ruefully. I suddenly run out of wall and I'm on the ground again, and I scoot backwards until I'm just out of the hallway in front of the stairs. I'm too tired to move anymore, so I stop… knowing it's the end.

Sayaka skips forward to me, manic look still on her face. She grabs the knife in both hands and raises it high above her head, ready to deliver the final blow, but she's suddenly tackled to the ground. Who…?

I will myself to stand and see that Kyoko is currently wrestling with Sayaka on the ground for control of the knife. "Kyoko! Get away from her, she'll kill you!"

She ignores me though, and they keep up their fight for the knife. Just when it seems that Kyoko has finally gotten the upper hand, Sayaka slips her hand free… and stabs Kyoko in her side.

She lets out a strangled groan, and Sayaka throws her off her, standing up and backing away several feet. Kyoko rolls over on her back, with the blade sticking straight up in the air. I'm by her side in seconds.

"Kyoko! What- Why did you do that! You should have gotten away from her when I told you to! Why didn't you!?" I say, tears welling up in my eyes.

"I'm… sorry Makoto." She says, weakly. "Something just came over me… I couldn't sit idly by and let her kill you." Her eyes widen a fraction, and she sits there quietly for a moment before she smiles. "I think I know why I did though… you are my best friend after all."

I look at her stunned for a moment. There's no way…! "You-" She cuts me off.

"Remember?" She smiles weakly. "I do… now." She bites her lip and stifles a groan of pain. "It's unfortunate that I'm only able to remember in my final moments though… it looks like you probably knew all along… thank you for saving Mondo by the way." She gives me a regretful smile. "I honestly have no clue why I didn't say… anything…" She starts to drift off into unconsciousness, and I quickly shake her awake.

Tears are freely falling down my face now. "No! These aren't your final moments Kyoko! I won't let you die!"

"But you will Makoto." I turn to look at Sayaka. She doesn't appear to feel any remorse, blank look firmly in place. "Because you're the one who killed her." I look at her, shocked.

She starts twirling a strand of her hair. "I just witnessed a murder! Of course you'll deny it, but who's everyone going to believe? A nobody like yourself, or a pop star like me?" I glare at her.

"You won't get away with it!" I yell, still crying. "If she dies, I'll be sure that you'll pay for what you've done!"

She puts her hand to her mouth, feigning surprise. "And how will you ever manage that Makoto…? No one will believe I was the one to kill her, I don't have a scratch on me! I'll say I came out for a drink of water and witnessed a brutal fight… Kyoko fought so hard to protect herself!" She starts to fake cry. "I wanted to help so badly, but there was no way I could have taken the knife from him!" She looks up and the blank look is back. "They'll all eat that up… no one will doubt me."

"Except maybe the person who just heard you say all of that."

She whips her hear around to look at Byakuya, who's standing there with a triumphant smirk on his face. "What-!?"

"Next time you're going to commit murder, try to make sure someone's soundproof door is shut properly." He says, crossing his arms.

"You… there weren't any other doors open!" She says, furious.

He pushes his glasses up. "Except for Makoto's. He told you I was in there right?" He sighs, walking around her. He moves around to Kyoko's other side and then does something unexpected.

"Monokuma!" He yells, voice filled with the demanding only he could muster.

"You rang?" Monokuma says, popping next to him. "Oh dear, you all have discovered a body! What a shame!" He says, giggling.

"You know very well she isn't dead." He says, leveling a glare at the bear. "You watched the whole thing after all. Treat her."

"What what what!?" Monokuma yells. "Why the hell would I do that!? This is the first action we've had in days! Look at the despair on Makoto's face! It's perfect!" He crosses his arms indignantly.

"And if she dies, what happens then?" He says, condescending.

"We hold a class trial, and the blackened will either escape or be executed!" He chirps.

Sayaka's eyes widen. "…E-execution!?"

Byakuya shakes his head. "Except there won't be a trial, not much of one at least. It'll be boring."

This gets Monokuma's attention. "What do you mean, boring…?" I had nearly forgotten that Junko's trigger word was boring.

"The case will be over within five minutes." Byakuya says, crossing his arms. "No debates, no arguments, nothing. I heard Sayaka's confession, and I'll leave no room for argument once the trial starts. Everyone will deem her to be guilty without a fight."

Monokuma seems to consider this for a moment. "That… would be boring. No one would fight it? At all?" He says, depressed. "The whole point of a trial would be to argue! I want to see people yelling, screaming, kicking! None of that idle acceptance shit!"

He turns away from us for a moment. "How about this?" He says, turning back. "I'll do my best to treat the girl, but if she dies you'll keep quiet for a bit and try to let the blackened try to convince everyone otherwise. Five minutes is all I want from ya, sound reasonable? Then you can nail her to the stake for burning."

Byakuya nods. "I accept." Monokuma laughs his trademark laugh and claps his paws together. The tile beneath Kyoko opens up beneath her and she slides neatly onto the gurney hidden underneath. Monokuma is suddenly wearing a nurse's uniform, and once it rises to floor level, takes off with it.

I'm left there, stupefied. Why… why did it have to be her!? She's… probably going to die. She's going to die… because she protected me. My tears come back in full force and I sob quietly for a few minutes before Byakuya stands and offers me a hand.

"Come on." He says in a voice so gentle, I'm surprised it came from him. "We need to fix up your arm. We don't want Kyoko's sacrifice to be in vain right?' I mutely nod and take his hand, still crying. He helps me to my feet and slings my good arm across his shoulder for support. Just when we were about to leave the area, Sayaka steps in front of us.

"No!" She shouts, seething. "You ruined my chance to escape! My career… it's over now! Why couldn't you just sit by and let him take the blame!? You know what it's like, more than anyone else here, that sometimes people need to be thrown under the bus to get what you want!"

He looks at her for a second before he looks down at me. I think I see the smallest of smiles on his face, but it may just be my imagination. He glances back to her. "I do… and that's why I did. Consider the bus en route my dear." With that he starts to carry me off, not sparing her a glance as she screams with indignation.

We enter my room and he shuts and locks the door behind us. Byakuya leads me to the bed and lets me sit down, before going off into the bathroom. He brings back a few supplies and helps me to take off my jacket and shirt so he can work on the cut. I glance down and wince. It looks like a mess. As he cleans up the excess blood, I feel slightly more relieved. It was long, but not very deep. He finishes cleaning it and wraps my arm firmly in a dry cloth… is that from my sheets?

"Sorry… there wasn't a first-aid kit in the bathroom. I'll get something better for you later, but it should work for now." He says quietly in response to my questioning look. He grabs a new shirt from my drawers and helps me put it on, before sitting down beside me.

We're quiet for what seems like a long while before I speak up. "I'm… so sorry. I should have listened to your warning Byakuya… that she was a bad person. I just wanted to believe so badly that she was who she appeared to be that I completely ignored what you told me… and Kyoko paid the price." I feel the tears spring back up, and I try and fail to hold them back.

He shakes his head. "It's not a bad thing to try and find goodness in people… you even found it in me after all." He then puts his hand over the one I have resting on the bed and gives it a light squeeze. "I shouldn't have fallen asleep… I could have protected you from her if I was awake." He says, glaring at the floor.

I weave my fingers in with his, surprising him. "No, it wasn't your job to protect me. I know you're going to beat yourself up over it no matter what but… I'm the one who opened the door for her, because I trusted her." I then turn to him smiling sadly. "You did protect me from her in the end, and you gave Kyoko a chance to survive that she wouldn't have before. So… thanks. For everything." I say, tears still streaming down my cheeks.

He doesn't say anything in response, but we stay there in silence for what seems like hours before Monokuma appears before us. Our hands immediately fly apart.

He didn't seem to notice. "Upupupupu… Kyoko is alive for now, but it's suuuuper unlikely that she's going to survive the day!" He says, voice full of glee. "So, I'm going to move ahead with the trial! Remember what you promised me!" He then leaves the room, still giggling.

Not a minute later, there's an announcement over the speakers. "Attention all students, please report to the gym! I have exciting news for you all!"

Byakuya stands and sighs. "Let's go get this over with."

* * *

><p>As we walk to the gym, I see Mukuro walking just ahead of us. Without a word to Byakuya, I walk up soundlessly to where I'm walking side by side with her and speak so that only she can hear. "If you want to live Mukuro, don't get close to Monokuma. Your sister will kill you." Her eyes widen in shock at my sentence.<p>

"You… what-" She starts, but I shake my head.

"Ask me how I know later, but for now I don't want any more death. You may be a double agent, but you're still our friend." As I say this, I fall back a little so that I'm back in step with Byakuya, and Mukuro continues soundlessly forward. At least she understands that we can't speak about it out loud.

Byakuya looks at me, eyebrow raised. I give him a tired smile. "I figured being blunt with her would be the best way for her not to be killed." I whisper. He simply nods, and we're silent the rest of the way to the gym. Once we arrive, Monokuma yells at us.

"Jeez, you three are slow! I've been waiting forever!" He claps his paws together. "Now, for the news, someone has finally been murdered!" He cheers. The looks of shock are evident on everyone's faces.

"W-what?" Chihiro sputters. He takes a quick look around the room and immediately comes to a conclusion. "Kyoko!? She's dead!?"

Monokuma nods, excited. "That's right kiddo! Dead as the day is long! Now, ordinarily I would have you all conduct an investigation, but alas!" He strikes a dramatic pose. "There isn't really any evidence to collect! The crime was very straightforward, as you'll all read in my report!" He tosses the Monokuma file at us, and Taka deftly catches it. The file is passed around the room until everyone's seen it.

"This case is going to be very special, because… we have eye witnesses!" He giggles, excited at the shocked expressions. "That's right! Makoto Naegi, Byakuya Togami, and Sayaka Maizono were all present at the crime scene! One is the murderer, one is the intended victim, and the other one saw the whole thing!"

He hops off of the stage. "I wanted to take you to the very special court room, but…" He trails off. "It doesn't seem right since this case is gonna be decided in a flash! So please, everyone get in a circle!"

Stupefied, everyone does as their told. Monokuma sits with his legs crossed in the center. "Now, I'll go around the room and ask for each of the eye witnesses' testimonies. It's up to you all to decide who's guilty! I don't really think you'll have a hard time this go around, but if you finger the right person, they'll be punished for disturbing your communal lives here, and be executed publicly!"

"What the fuck!?" Mondo shouts. "You mean you're gonna kill off whoever we finger?"

"Upupupupu… Not exactly!" Monokuma chuckles. "If you get it wrong… the person you choose will still die, but so will the rest of you! Only the person who graduates will survive!" He pats his belly. "No pressure or anything!"

As he says this, nervous looks are leveled on all of us. I can only pray that they make the right decision. Monokuma clears his throat.

"Now, Miss Maizono, if you would be so kind, please deliver your side of the story!"

She scans the crowd, lip trembling ever so slightly, before she bursts into a fit of tears. "O-oh, it was so awful! I had gone to get a drink of water when I saw Makoto and Kyoko fighting in the hall! He had come at her with a knife! She fought back so hard, but he overpowered her… He stabbed her right in the side, grinning the entire time as she bled out on the floor… I wanted to help her out, but… there was no way I could have possibly stopped him!"

Suddenly several sets of glares are thrown my way. I frantically shake my head. "No no, that's not how it happened at all! Sayaka knocked on my door around two, saying she wanted to talk. I told her no, cause Byakuya was in the room with me, and she pulled a knife from behind her back and slashed me on the arm!" I say, pointing to my arm. I tried to get away but I was bleeding a lot and I tripped… and I hit Kyoko's door. She must have heard it, cause just when Sayaka was about to stab me, Kyoko tackled her from behind! They started fighting on the floor but Sayaka managed to get the knife out of Kyoko's hand and stabbed her in her side!"

"Lies!" Toko shouts. "You probably got that gash fighting with Kyoko! She was tough, she could have done it!"

"Indeed! There was no way Miss Maizono could have possibly attacked you… Look at her!" Hifumi jeers, crossing his arms. "She's beside herself with grief!"

"B-but guys," Chihiro stutters. "We haven't even heard-" He's cut off by Taka.

"Nonsense Chihiro! Do you even see the major differences between their stories? It's obvious that Makoto is much more capable of such a heinous act!"

"Like hell!" Mondo shouts. "Makoto is one of the nicest motherfuckers I've ever met! There's no way he could ever off someone!"

"Oh please!" Toko retorts. "J-just keep your mouth shut you meat head! It's obvious that he's the one who did her in!"

"Yeah, foreal!" Hiro says, freaking out. "I mean really, a hot babe or a dumpy looking dude, who's more likely to off someone?!"

"_Oh god, this really isn't going well! They're going to make up their minds before Byakuya even gets to say anything!" _

Just as I think I'm about to be crucified, I get some help way out of left field… from Mukuro.

"… I believe him." She says firmly, stopping all chatter.

"W-what?" Taka asks, surprised. "Junko, what do you mean!? What makes you think that Makoto's story is true?"

She stays silent a few moments before she speaks. "Well… it's just a couple of things that were different between their stories. Sayaka never even mentioned Byakuya, who Monokuma said was at the scene… and Makoto was a lot more specific with his side." She crosses her arms, glaring at everyone. "More than all of that though, I just believe him!"

The debate was getting ready to heat up again, but Monokuma cuts in before anything can be said. "Upupupupu! Now now kiddies, I think that's enough fun for me!" He giggles, earning confused looks from almost everyone. "Byakuya, you're free to speak now!"

Byakuya, who's been standing off to the side with his arms crossed, steps forward. "I was asleep in Makoto's room when I was awoken by shouts emanating from the hallway. I look through the open door and see Sayaka and Kyoko fighting over a knife, but it was ultimately Sayaka who won. She stabbed Kyoko and threw her off her. As she was bleeding out on the floor and Makoto was attempting to save her, Sayaka launches into a triad about how she's going to pin the murder him, saying that there was no way, and I quote, that anyone would believe a nobody like him over a star like her." He takes a moment to push up his glasses. "Any questions?"

Everyone looks at him in shock, except Sayaka, who's positively livid. "You… what the hell are you talking about!? It's obvious that Makoto is the one who did it! I'm the eyewitness, he's the murderer, and you're-"

"The intended victim?" He asks, eyebrow raised. Sayaka looks at him shocked.

"Wow girlie, you sorta fucked up." Leon says, eyes wide. "You weren't listening earlier when Monokuma was talking?"

Hina tilts her head to the side. "Yeah… he said that one of you was the murderer, one of you was the eye-witness, and one of you was the one the murderer wanted to die… but you only talked about you and Makoto in your story."

Sakura takes the reins from here. "And Byakuya himself never mentioned anything about being attacked previously." She says, eyes wide. "So there is only one possible set up from your accounts…"

Celes giggles, lifting her hand to her mouth. "Little Makoto was the intended victim…"

"…Byakuya was t-the witness…" Chihiro murmurs.

Mukuro points a finger at Sayaka. "And you're the culprit!"

I look at everyone relieved. _"They figured it out!"_ I let out a tense sigh.

Sayaka has a blank look on her face. "No."

I blink. "No…?"

"No. No. No. No!" She says, each time increasing in volume. "Are you all stupid!? What the hell are you doing believing a nobody and a snob over me!? I'm the star, why the hell would I ever lie about anything? I don't have a reason! He's the one who killed her!"

"No I'm not!" I retort, seething. "It's obvious it's you!"

"Where's your proof!? You don't have any! This whole thing has been word of mouth from only three people!" Sayaka yells, and continues to yell when I glance around the room.

Hina raises her hand, a little shaky. "What's wrong Hina?" I ask, concerned.

"W-well… I might have the proof you need." She says, looking down. "I was having a cup of tea in the dining hall last night. Sayaka came in and went into the kitchen, coming out a few minutes later. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but when I went back into the kitchen one of the knives was missing. It was definitely there when I was making my tea!"

This shuts Sayaka up. She looks at Hina, stunned. "You… were in there? Where?! I didn't even see you-" Her hand flies to her mouth, but it's too late.

"You, my dear…" Byakuya says, smirking. "Have just dug your own grave."

"Okay! Trial's over!" Monokuma cheers.

"What!?" Sayaka says, panicking. "I wasn't finished yet!"

Monokuma ignores her. "Ordinarily I'd have you cast your votes on this cool slot machine, but I'm pretty sure everyone here agrees it was the Super High School Level Idol who was guilty, right?" He doesn't wait for any answers. "Right! So, I wasn't actually completely honest with you guys. I was originally planning to have the trial in the court room, buuuuut…." He says, pressing a button, cutting off the lights. "A punishment truly deserving of an Idol was already set up in here!"

Suddenly, a spotlight shows on him and a panel of two other Monokumas sitting off to the side, and another onto Sayaka. He has a gavel in his hand. "Let's give it everything we've got!" They chime in unison. "It'ssssssss…. Punishment Time!" He smacks the gavel onto the red button on the table. Suddenly, a hook appears out of nowhere and pulls Sayaka into the darkness.

The gym becomes filled with light, and the stage looks like something straight out of a concert hall, complete with lights, pyrotechnics, and a large screen in back. The screen suddenly flickers to life, displaying one chilling sentence:

"Sayaka Maizono's Last Performance!"

Sayaka is thrown on stage, right in the middle of an over-sized bear trap. She frantically looks around, and sees the words "sing for your life" displayed on the screen. The words disappear, and suddenly one of her band's songs begins to play.

She sings in perfect tune with the song, and once it's over, the lights focus on the Monokuma panel of judges. They pretend to discuss for a moment before all producing large gavels and hitting the red buttons at the same time, causing three red x's to appear on the screen. Something snaps, and the trap activates, effectively severing her head from her body.

The gym goes black, and Monokuma forces all of us out into the trophy room.

"Wowee, wasn't that one hell of an execution!? I'm still trembling in excitement! Ba-dum, Ba-dum!" He says panting.

"What the hell do you mean!?" I scream. "You just cut her head off!"

"Eh." He says, shrugging. "It had to happen somehow. She disrupted your life here." He crosses his arms, pouting. "What are you even mad about? She was trying to blame it all on you! I wouldn't feel sorry for her if I was in your shoes…"

I shake my head furiously. "That doesn't mean I wanted to see her get beheaded! That's just sick!"

"Well, now you all know what happens if you don't graduate! Consider it a warning as to how serious I am." He says with a laugh. "Upupupu… whelp, I've got to clean up her corpse. We can't have it stinking up the gym, now can we? Toodles!" He then makes a hasty exit, locking the gym's door behind him.

"I seriously want to throw up..." I manage after what seems like an eternity of silence. A quick glance around the room shows that many others share my sentiments.

"I-I can't believe that!" Taka shouts. "What the hell was that! H-her head…"

Mukuro shakes her head. "That… was an execution. We'd all best tread lightly if we don't want to end up dead."

Looking at her, she seems… sincere. As if she were referring to herself as well.

Part of me hopes that she is.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Holy crap that was long. So lonnnng. But I just had trouble finding a good place to stop! So yeah... yey. c:**


	8. Chapter 7: Where's the Tylenol?

Chapter 7: Where's the Tylenol!?

Makoto's P.o.V:

As we make our way out of the trophy room on shaky legs, I notice that the gate blocking the second floor is now open, as expected. I can't honestly say I care though…

Leon seemingly does care however. "Guys, check it out!" He points a finger toward the stairs. "They aren't blocked anymore!"

"He's right." Sakura affirms. "What's the meaning of this…?"

Just then Monokuma appears. "Oho, I forgot to tell you all about that! I've decided to broaden your horizons… by allowing you all to explore the school more! Think of it as a reward for letting me witness you in the deepest depths of despair!" He giggles. "Aren't I generous? Now don't bother me again, there's a big mess I've gotta clean up!"

As soon as he's gone, Taka speaks up. "We might as well explore it… there's no telling what we'll find up there."

But I really don't feel up to exploring. At all. I already know what's up there… and I honestly just want to sleep.

Chihiro takes a nervous glance at me before nodding to himself and speaking up. "I-I'm going to take Makoto back to his room." I turn to him, surprised. "He doesn't look well."

Mondo nods his affirmative. "Good thinking girlie." He turns to me. "Ain't nothing wrong in grieving man. What just happened was pretty fucked up, no one here is gonna fault ya for taking a while to cool down." His voice is still as gruff as ever, but he's got a tone of understanding hidden in there as well.

I offer him a shaky nod after a couple of moments, and he turns back to Chihiro. "You stay with him a while. The rest of us got this exploring shit down, alright?"

"Right." Chihiro says, giving him a small smile. "I promise I'll take good care of him."

Mondo ruffles his hair and grins down at him before stalking up the stairs. Taka yells after him. "Wait a moment Mondo! It's not safe for you to be going off on your own, even if you are trying to impress Chihiro!"

This makes him stumble on the stairs, and he turns toward Taka, cheeks blazing. "What the fuck dude! What the hell do you mean I'm trying to impress her!? I was just telling her to go take care of my bro is all!" I glance over at Chihiro and see that his cheeks are pink as well.

Taka points at him, yelling. "Regardless of whether or not you realize what you were doing, it's still not okay to go off on your own!" He crosses his arms. "Please save your flirting for after our investigation!"

Mondo goes even redder than before, looking ready to beat Taka into the ground. "Shut the fuck up! I wasn't flirting with her goddammit!" He flips him the bird, and Taka's eyes go wide in shock.

Mukuro smacks her forehead before hitting Taka on the shoulder, effectively cutting off his reply. "Brows. Stop talking. You're just digging yourself into a deeper hole." She then grabs his wrist and starts to drag him upstairs. Suddenly she pauses and turns back to me.

"Go get some rest Makoto. We'll talk about everything later, alright?" Before I can reply, she pushes past Mondo and walks up the stairs.

Looking indignant, Mondo stalks up the stairs after them. "Don't you think for a second that this is fucking over!" Hina shakes her head with a laugh and proceeds to drag Leon and Sakura up the steps, with everyone else following close behind.

Byakuya lingers for a moment before he nods at Chihiro. "Make sure to cheer him up alright?" He hesitantly nods back to Byakuya in response, and proceeds down the hall with me in tow.

* * *

><p>Once we reach my room, Chihiro speaks up. "You know Makoto… I think Monokuma is occupied with cleaning the gym… I-If you want to talk, we can." He says, gripping his skirt and giving me a sheepish look.<p>

I almost turn him down but… I honestly think that talking would help at this point. I give him a small nod and walk over to the bed. He walks over and sits next to me, looking up at me with a small smile on his lips. I stay quiet for a while before I speak up.

"Last time… Kyoko was my best friend." I start quietly. "Without her help, there was no way we would have survived most of the class trials. She's the reason we found out the truth… and now Monokuma has her." I shift my gaze to the floor. "I wonder what he'll do with her…?"

Chihiro tilts his head with a frown. "I would think that he would store her body somewhere."

I show Chihiro a sad smile. "No. She's still alive." His eyes go wide in shock.

"W-what…? Kyoko is alive? But how?"

I twiddle my thumbs for a minute before taking a deep breath. "Byakuya bargained with Monokuma. She was bleeding out on the floor when he told Monokuma that the trial would be a really boring one, because he had seen the whole thing happen. That's why he stayed quiet for most of it, it was part of the deal he made so that Monokuma would treat her."

"W-wait…" Chihiro stutters, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. "Does that mean… Sayaka died for nothing..?"

I shake my head. "Monokuma said that it was unlikely that Kyoko would survive the day, so he decided to go on with the trial. I didn't want Sayaka to die of course, but the second part of the agreement was that if Kyoko was likely to die, he could still have a class trial." I trail off to wipe tears from my eyes. "Her execution… was just so brutal. At least she didn't suffer for long."

Chihiro looks to the ground. "It's amazing that even after she tried to pin the murder on you that-" He sniffles. "That… you still didn't want her to die. You really are a kind person."

Once again, I shake my head. "No… I'm a very stupid person. The very same thing happened last time, except her plan backfired and she ended up being murdered by Leon. She was planning on killing him in my room and then pin it on me." I rake my hand through my hair. "Byakuya had warned me not to get close to her again… but I thought that if I could just do things a little differently, that she could have survived with the rest of us. Look how that turned out…"

"B-but Makoto!" Chihiro squeaks. "You had the best intentions when you decided to do what you did! Some people just… don't change. They'll keep on making the same mistake over and over no matter how many chances you give them… Sayaka must have been one of those people, even if she didn't know it. You're not stupid at all!"

I open my mouth to speak, but Chihiro quickly puts his hands over my mouth. "I don't want to hear it Makoto!" He says, puffing out his cheeks. "You aren't to blame for what happened! I'm not gonna let you keep on putting yourself down… You don't deserve it!" He squeezes his eyes shut to keep from crying. "You've got to be one of the best people I've ever met, and you aren't stupid!"

In spite of myself, I end up cracking a smile. I gently peel his hands off of my face and give him a hug. "…Thanks Chihiro. You're a great friend." I say after a moment, patting him on the back. He returns my hug before letting go, a small smile on his face.

"No more self-bashing?" He asks with narrowed eyes. I nod, and he smiles. "You should probably take a nap Makoto." He says, standing. "I'm going to go tell Mondo and Byakuya that you're alright, and then I'll be back, okay?"

I smile at him. "Alright, if you want to." He turns and waves before leaving, closing the door firmly shut behind him.

I sigh and stretch, crawling under the covers. It doesn't take long for sleep to come.

* * *

><p>Mukuro's P.o.V:<p>

As I drag Brows down the hall, I end up getting lost in thought.

"_That Makoto… how did he know my name? His memory should have been wiped along with the rest when we took over the school…" _I internally sigh. _"Not to mention that he told me not to get near Monokuma. Junko had told me to yell at him and get in his face to avoid suspicion but… had she really meant to kill me?"_

The whole reason I had agreed to do this with her is so that she'd forgive me for running off and joining Fenrir… and she said she would if I had helped her with her plot. That's all I ever wanted from her; forgiveness and love. But if what Makoto said has any truth to it…

I shake those thoughts off. "_There's no way she'd lie to me like that… right_?" Suddenly I'm unsure of what's actually going on.

I'm snapped out of my thoughts when Mondo runs up and stands in front of me, clearly pissed.

"Sorry blondie, but I've got a bone to pick with your boy-toy over there." He says, crossing his arms.

Not wanting to get involved in something that's clearly going to happen whether or not I'd like it to, I let go of Brows' wrist and step off to the side. "Not my boy-toy, but have at him."

Taka walks up and crosses his own arms, glaring at Mondo in challenge. "What is the meaning of this Mondo? We need to be exploring the second floor!"

Mondo's own glare intensifies. "Where the fuck do you get off acting like that? You're fucking stupid if you thought I would just let that shit go."

"I was only stating things as they appear to me!" He says, tilting his head to the side. "Do you yourself not realize that you were attempting to impress the girl?"

Mondo only growls in response. "How many times do I have to tell you fuckface, it wasn't fucking like that!"

"Watch your language Mondo!" Brows is scowling at this point. "Even though we're trapped here, this is still a school, and you're still in the presence of a lady! Show some respect!"

Mondo cracks his knuckles. "Oh, I'll show some fucking respect alright! I'll respect my god damn fist once it knocks your ass out cold!"

Brows scoffs, only adding fuel to the fire. "You delinquents are all the same! No other way to solve problems other than with your fists!"

With Mondo seriously close to a boiling point, I decide to intervene before things get worse than necessary. "Alright that's enough!" I say, glaring at the two of them. "If either of you idiots hadn't realized, you're fighting over pointless shit!" Brows gives me a scandalized look over my language and I roll my eyes.

Seeing that I've got their attention, I continue. "Look, I don't care what you guys do later, but for now we need to look around for something useful! The last thing we need right now is you two fighting like two pre-teen girls over a rumor!"

Taka deflates somewhat. "Very well." He says, looking to the ground. "I hadn't meant to cause such a problem for you Junko. I apologize." I nod at him. Mondo simply scoffs and walks off.

I turn to Taka fully and cross my arms at him. "Seriously though Brows, what the hell were you thinking calling him out? It's alright to have your opinions about things, but there wasn't any reason for you to embarrass them like that."

He huffs. "I didn't want Mondo running off on his own when we didn't know what was up here! He could have been hurt!"

I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Not that part! I meant when you said that Mondo was trying to flirt with Chihiro!"

He tilts his head. "Wasn't it obvious though?"

"No!" I yell, exasperated. "That was _your_ opinion of what he was doing! I just thought he was being a good friend!"

He suddenly looks like a kicked puppy. "R-really…?"

"Yes really! Jeez, were you always such a social invalid!?" I smack my palm to my forehead. "What you did was seriously not cool! Even if he did have a thing for Chihiro, it wouldn't be our place to say anything."

He looks at me confused. "What do you mean "were you always"? Isn't that something people say when they'd met someone previously?"

My heart skips a tiny beat, but I quickly wave him off. "Don't be such a grammar nazi! You get what I meant!" I glare at him, and he withers. "The point is that you can't just go around saying people are flirting with each other! You can seriously hurt someone like that."

He pouts a little. "I don't really see how!"

"Okay, let me explain it to you in a way you might understand." I say, patting him on the shoulder. "Let's say that you're helping me out with something, being real nice and such. Then someone comes up and yells out that you're flirting with me. Wouldn't you feel the least bit bad if you weren't actually flirting with me, and that maybe that person got my hopes up for nothing?"

He crosses his arms. "Impossible!" He says suddenly, startling me.

"How is that impossible?" I say, exasperated.

"Because!" He yells. "There's no way you could possibly have any sort of romantic feeling towards me! I'd have nothing to worry about!" He finishes with a laugh.

"Really? No way at all?" I say with an eyebrow raised. "Why's that?"

He goes quiet for a moment. "W-well, I don't really think you would go for someone such as myself!"

"So you're saying that you aren't my type?" I say, slightly amused. He nods. "What makes ya so sure Brows?"

He looks to be a little flustered. "I mean… you're a model! Models date other models, correct?"

Looking at him, I can't help but feel a little conflicted about how I should answer. Junko certainly wouldn't go for someone as… intense as him.

But personally… I think it's sort of cute how straightforward and oblivious he is. I don't much like admitting it, but he's the sort of disciplined guy I wouldn't mind being with.

"_Okay woah, that train of thought needs to stop right there!" _I internally scold myself. _"As the ultimate soldier, you can't let your judgment be clouded by something as silly as feelings!" _I then feel my cheeks heat up. _"N-not that there are any feelings to begin with! He's always been just some dorky guy, even before now!"_

"Uhm… Junko?" He says, waving his hand in front of my face. "Are you alright?"

I quickly shake my head, hoping my face isn't as red as it feels. "Just fine Brows!" I say, laughing. "But to answer your question, I date who I like." I wink at him, hoping to turn the tables a little. "You're still in the running for sure!" I grin at him like how I think Junko would.

His face turns as red as his eyes. "J-Junko! It's not polite to make fun of people like that!"

I give him a genuine smile when I see how he reacted. "Now who said I'm making fun of you?" I say, innocently. I don't give him a chance to reply, and dart off.

I hear him yelling after me. "W-wait, Junko! Don't run in the halls!"

* * *

><p><span>Mondo P.o.V<span>:

I stomp away from that eyebrowed idiot. Much as I hate to admit it, blondie had a point… I did tell my bro and ladybro that I'd get this exploring shit done after all.

I start walking normally again. Thinking about her, I really hope that idiot didn't make her feel too uncomfortable. She'd looked so flustered when he said that shit, I really hope she didn't get the wrong idea.

"_Was it really the wrong idea though…?"_

That stops me dead in my tracks. Where the hell did that thought come from? No way I'd like her! I've only known the chick for a week! Not to mention that she's the exact opposite of what I usually go for…

Generally speaking, my type of chick is the kind that's busty, loud, and easy. No need for formalities, it's a quick "hey, wanna hit this?" type deal. It's not like I'm looking for an actual relationship or anything, and all of them seem to get that… at first.

After a while it starts to get to their head, and they just think they're the hottest shit because they're "dating" a gang leader. Some of them would get into trouble with the cops, and others would get in trouble with other gangs, just because they thought they could get away with it.

"_Of course what those morons didn't get is that just 'cause I'm a gang leader, doesn't mean I go and start shit for the hell of it. I'm not about to put my ass on the line just because you felt like you could do whatever and get away with it._ _I've never bailed out one of those broads once."_

I sigh and continue into a room. Looks like a library… I start to look around, but I end up getting caught up in my thoughts again.

"_Chihiro isn't like that at all. She's small and really quiet, and is the sort of person that's really easy to overlook. Not to mention that she's got a brain, and still somehow manages to be adorable without wearing makeup or any of those other fancy tricks…"_

I slam into a bookshelf. It almost topples over, but I manage to grab it just in time. _"I did not just think of my ladybro as cute. No way in hell…" _My cheeks feel hot. _"Alright, so maybe I did. No problem. Anyone would think that she is."_

"U-uhm, Mondo? Are you okay?"

I whip around when I hear the familiar voice from behind me and see Chihiro standing there with a worried look on her face. Speak of the devil.

"Oh me? Completely! Totally fine, really." I say, waving her off. Hopefully she doesn't notice how red my face is. "Aren't ya supposed to be looking after Makoto?"

She smiles, doing funny things to my insides. "Makoto is sleeping right now actually. I managed to cheer him up quite a bit, and I thought I'd just come tell you and Byakuya the good news before heading back there."

I grin down at her. "Nice job girlie!" I tousle her hair, which is abnormally soft. I feel my face gearing up to turn red again, but just then something occurs to me. "Wait. Why would you tell that rich asshole how bro's doing?"

She tilts her head to the side. "Well… they're friends I think. Just before he went upstairs, he told me to take good care of him. I ran into him in the hall before I came in here, and he seemed to be relieved… it was a little hard to tell though."

I grunt. "Bro knows how to pick em I guess. Who would have thought the arrogant bastard would actually give a shit about him?" I crack my neck. "Well it's not really important. Thanks for the update though, I really appreciate it."

She smiles up at me. "No problem! I'm just gonna head back to his ro-" She suddenly cuts off mid-sentence.

I turn to look at her. "Wait, what's wrong?" I ask. She doesn't say anything and walks over to a desk in the corner. I walk over to where she's standing and see what she ended up getting distracted by: a computer.

"That's weird." I say. "What's a computer doing here? That bear managed to remove all of our phones and shit, why'd he leave this?"

She shakes her head. "I'm… not sure." She opens up the laptop and hits the power button. Nothing happens.

"Guess that's why. Stupid thing is broken." I say with an irritated sigh. "Damn shame too, there might have been something useful on there."

Chihiro puts her finger to her lips in thought. "Well… I might be able to fix it. I am a programmer after all…"

I grin down at her, nearly having forgotten that she was a computer whiz. "Hell, it's worth a shot! If anyone can fix it, it's you!"

Her cheeks turn slightly pink. "J-just don't expect too much okay? It may just be completely shot." She then glances around me, and continues to speak in a whisper "We need to keep quiet about this though. Monokuma can't know about what I'm trying to do, otherwise we might get in trouble."

Understanding, I nod. "Gotcha. But that damn bear has cameras up everywhere, how are you gonna work on it?"

She shakes her head with a smile. "Actually, Makoto had discovered that there aren't any cameras in the bath house! We don't know why exactly, but it's probably the best place for me to work for now."

I whistle. "Damn, really? Way to go bro! He's got some grade-A observation skills."

She has a strange look on her face for a minute before shifting to a smile. "Right?" She grabs the computer and its charger. "I'm going to go put this in there now."

I look at her confused. "How are you going to hide it though? Someone's gonna see you carrying it."

"Oh, uhm…" She only thinks about it for a moment before she turns away from me and walks behind the desk, facing the wall. I don't understand what she's doing, but then she suddenly lifts up the front of her skirt and I turn my head so fast I think I gave myself whiplash.

"Woah woah woah!" I say, surprised. "What the fuck are you doing?!" I didn't actually see anything, but it's the fact that yeah, she really did just lift up her skirt, that makes my face burn.

She turns back to me, clutching the laptop under her poofy skirt. "W-what?" She asks, frazzled. "I was just hiding the laptop…" She looks at my face for a few moments before her face turn pink. "O-Oh no! I'm so sorry Mondo, I wasn't thinking! You… didn't see anything, right?" She says, tears in the corner of her eyes.

I shake my head, hoping my face isn't as red as hers. "No… I only saw the skirt go up, I swear I didn't see anything!" She seems to accept this, but her face is still red.

"W-well." She stutters. "I'm just gonna go now… I'll see you later Mondo!" She then quickly runs out of the room, and I'm left staring in the direction she went.

"_I sorta wish I did peek though…"_

* * *

><p>Chihiro's P.o.V:<p>

Oh no. Oh no no no! I can't believe I slipped up like that! What possessed me to just lift up my skirt with him in the room…?

"_I want to crawl into a hole and die…" _My cheeks are on fire. _"He didn't see anything sure, but it's the fact that he could have! He was so embarrassed too… augh, I can't believe I put him through that!"_

I quickly make my way through the school to the dorm area. I place the computer in one of the lockers in the bath house, before I speed down the hall to Makoto's room. I open the door to see him sitting on the edge of the bed, doodling on a notepad.

He looks up when I enter the room. "Oh, hey Chihiro!" He looks like he feels a lot better now. He gets a strange look on his face when he looks at me. "Why is your face so red?"

"O-oh, no reason!" I say, waving him off. "So uhm… how was your nap?"

"Just fine…" He says with a dubious expression on his face. "Seriously though, you look like a tomato. Tell me what's wrong."

With my topic change being shut down immediately, I sigh. "Well… I found a computer. Mondo and I, that is." I look off to the side. "I-it wouldn't turn on, so I told him I would work on it, but we had to keep it under wraps…"

"Oh right!" He says with a smile. "You actually ended up fixing it last time." He then tilts his head to the side. "But… what does any of that have to do with why you're blushing so hard?"

"About that…" I say, clutching my skirt. "Mondo had asked how I had planned on moving the laptop without being noticed, and I just sorta…" I trail off.

"You just sorta…?" Makoto asks, leaning forward.

"Imayhaveliftedmyskirtinfrontofhim." I say quickly, words running together slightly. It takes Makoto a second to process what I said.

"You… lifted your skirt in front of him…?" He asks, stupefied.

"I-It wasn't in front of him per se… I did turn away from him after all!" I say, frantic. "B-but he still saw me lift it up right then and there, and he didn't see anything, but I still did it without even thinking about it! I just thought it would be a good way to move it without anyone knowing! Oh Makoto he looked so embarrassed, I couldn't stay in there any longer and I darted out of the room! I-"

"Okay wait a minute!" Makoto says, cutting my rambling short. "So what you're telling me is that you lifted your skirt so that you could hide the laptop under it, and you did it with Mondo in the room." He says, sighing. "But you had turned away from him so that he wouldn't see anything?"

"R-right." I say, with a nod.

He pats my shoulder with a small laugh. "It's not really a problem then right? He didn't see anything, so your secret is safe."

"W-well yeah… but that's not the problem I'm having!" I say, surprising myself. "I-I did something so embarrassing in front of him that I feel like I could die!"

Makoto raises an amused eyebrow at me. "So it's not the fact that he almost found out your secret that's bothering you the most, it's the fact that you did something like that in front of him?"

I give him a meek nod, and he smiles at me. "I'm really surprised. Last time you were guarding your secret with your life until Monokuma came up with the past motive…"

I look at him, confused. "Past motive…?"

He nods. "Yeah. Basically he's got dirt on all of us, and he gave us an option: Someone dies within the next twenty-four hours, or he reveals our secrets to everyone." He frowns suddenly. "You were going to tell everyone about it, but…" He trails off, but he doesn't need to say any more.

"I-I see…" I let out a shaky sigh. "So I'm going to have to tell everyone?" He nods. "W-when?"

"I'm not sure." He says, scratching the back of his head. "This first motive took a longer time to come than the last one, but what I do know is that it's going to be the next one given to us…"

I'm… not sure how I'm going to deal with this. No matter what, I'm going to have to tell everyone that I'm actually a boy. There's no way around it...

"_What's everyone going to think?" _I wonder with a sigh._ "I know some of them won't care, and some will be shocked, but there are a few people who I just don't know how they'll react..."_ Just then, a troubling thought comes up, making me want to cry.

"_What's Mondo going to think…?"_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Another one down! This one was a little filler-ish, but there's gonna be a lot more plot development in the next one. Scout's honor!  
><strong>


	9. Chapter 8: What's your favorite color?

Chapter 8: What's your favorite color?

Makoto's P.o.V:

Looking at Chihiro, he looks like he's about to burst into a fit of tears. "Woah, what's wrong?" I say, grabbing his shoulder and sitting him down next to me. "You didn't seem bothered when your secret was almost found out earlier."

"I-I know what I said." He says with a sniffle. "But it was only _almost_… Knowing that I'm going to have to tell them about me… it's terrifying!" A few rogue tears streak down his cheeks. "I'm not certain that I'm strong enough to handle their reactions… his especially."

I shoot him a worried look. "His?"

He looks at me with watery eyes. "Mondo's! There's no telling how he'd take it… I just have this awful feeling that he'd hate me for it." He wipes at his eyes. "That's the absolute last thing that I want! He's such a great guy, and I really_ really_ don't want to lose him…"

I give him a small smile. "I think you're underestimating him."

He sniffles, looking a little confused. "Underestimating him?"

I nod. "Yeah. Mondo may be really loud, but he's a good guy. I really don't think that he's going to hate you for this of all things. He'll still be your friend whether he thinks you're a boy or a girl."

He gets a strange look on his face. "Whether I'm a girl or a boy… he'd still like me…" He looks to the floor. "Would he treat me any differently though? I don't really want anything to change between us. I like where we are…"

My eyes widen at him. _"There's no way… right?"_ I wait a few moments before I decide to speak.

"Uhm Chihiro, if you don't mind me asking…" I trail off and scratch the back of my head. "You wouldn't happen to… like Mondo, would you?"

"Well of course I do!" He says, turning to me. "You two are my only friends… and I don't mean just causally, I mean actual friends!" He appears confused. "I thought you knew that…?"

I shake my head at him. "That's not what I meant." I clear my throat. "I meant…. Ya know, in a romantic sense."

He stares at me for a few moments before my words finally register, and his face instantly reddens. "M-Ma-Makoto! Why would you even ask me that!? I like him just as much as I like you!"

"Well I know that!" I say with a sigh. "I just sorta got the impression that you may like him a little differently than you like me…"

He frantically shakes his head. "I can't like him! He's… he's a guy! A straight guy! And I'm… I don't even know what I am! I haven't even had a crush on anyone before!"

"What?" I say, shocked. "You've never had a crush on anyone before?"

He sighs. "No… ever since I started getting bullied, I've usually kept to myself. I've never gotten close enough to anyone to have developed feelings for them." He then looks up at me. "How do you tell?"

I bite by lip. "I don't really know how to explain it to you… Just try to think about him in relation to me. What's different? What's the same? I'm sure if you give it a little thought you'll know how you feel."

He goes silent for a while before he abruptly stands and heads for the door. "I… need to think. Can I get back to you about this later?" Without waiting for my reply, he sweeps out of my room.

I stare at the door, dumbstruck. _"How… does he not know if he likes someone? Shouldn't it be obvious?" _As soon as I think this though, I remember what happened with Byakuya in the bath house. My face heats up.

"_Hello pot, meet kettle." _I flop down on the bed and groan. "_I had completely forgotten about that with everything that's been going on!"_

Byakuya had said that I was attracted to him… and then he did _that_. My hand flies to my neck and my face burns even more than it originally did. _"He really did that… it was so… so bold! I didn't peg him as the forward type…"_

But thinking about it, it sort of makes sense. He's always been straightforward in everything else, so why would this be any different? It was still surprising though…

I roll over on my side. _"Of course it's surprising! Not too long ago he was treating me like the trash of the earth, and now he suddenly goes and does that? I didn't even think he was gay!"_

This stops me in my tracks. _Is_ he even gay?

…Did he only do that to make me feel bad?

I had honestly thought he changed, but what if he only did that to mess with me? I shake my head.

"_He's a different guy now, and given the situation…" _I rub my hand over my face. _"Then again… he never actually said anything about him liking me… he only pointed out that I'm attracted to him!" _

My eyes go wide_. "W-Which isn't even true! Anyone would freak out when someone's that close to you!" _I bury my head in my pillow. _"Those butterflies in my stomach… those were just flukes! Honest!"_

I lay there for what seems like hours, just thinking about my tall friend. The more I think about him though, the more it turns into me trying to convince myself that I _don't_ like him. Finally deciding I've been laying there long enough, I decide to head to the dining hall.

I walk out of my room and lock the door behind me. _"He's arrogant, he's rude, and he's good at manipulating people… and the most important thing, he's a guy! I've always liked girls, always!" _I stalk down the hall, internally fuming. _"He was so wrong about that! Besides, he licked my neck before he said it! Anyone would make a funny sound if someone did that to them!"_

As I skulk into the dining hall, I see Mondo and Taka at each other's throats. I'm instantly snapped out of my funk as I rush over to them.

"Woah, guys, what the hell are you doing!?" I say, forcing them apart.

Mondo sneers. "I've had it with this fucker's holier than thou attitude! He needs to keep his shit to himself!"

Taka leers at him. "You're simply angry that you can't solve anything without violence! Do you know what this cretin did earlier Makoto?" He turns to me and points at Mondo. "He attempted to start a fight with me right in front of Junko!" He gestures to a very tired Mukuro, who simply waves at me. "She could have been hurt...!" He then reels on him. "He has no balls what so ever!"

"Oh really douche, you sayin that you have more balls than me!?" Mondo says, edging closer to him.

"I am!" He says, crossing his arms in challenge. "I'm tougher than you in every aspect!"

"We'll fucking see about that!" Mondo spits. He turns and looks at me. "Hey bro, you feeling better?" I give him a short nod. "Great! Now we'll have a damn witness! You ready to do this?"

Taka glowers at him. "I've always been ready! Bring it on!"

"_W-witness?" _It suddenly dawns on me. "N-No wait-" Before I can even object, I'm lifted off my feet by each of them grabbing an arm. They then dash out of the dining hall, with me kicking and screaming the entire time.

* * *

><p>"G-guys, isn't there a better way to face off than this?" I say, raking my hand through my hair. "A sauna test of endurance seems a little extreme, don't you think?"<p>

Right now we're standing in the bath house, with Taka and Mondo glaring daggers at each other. Mondo is the first to reply.

"Damn straight it's extreme! But it's the only fucking way I'm gonna teach this punk that there's no one out there tougher than me!" He says crossing his arms.

"And it's the only way I'm going to be able to put this delinquent in his place!" Taka says, throwing off his jacket. "The first one to peel out of there is to be publicly exposed as a loser! That's why you're here Makoto!" He pulls down his pants and I turn away from him.

"Ha!" Mondo snorts. "I'm not even gonna undress! I'll take you down in my clothes!"

A thought suddenly comes to me as I turn to look at Mondo. "But Mondo, your clothes are going to absorb your sweat! That'll keep you cooler than Taka; it wouldn't be a fair fight." I say, raising an eyebrow at him. "You wouldn't want to be cheating would ya?"

He looks at me shocked. "I-It would!? Fuck no, I don't want that!" He quickly strips down. "It's a damn good thing you're so smart bro, I wanna take down this puss-bucket on fair ground!"

I nod, not looking at either of them until I'm certain they have towels around their waists. _"I'm glad he trusts me enough to believe what I say… even if it's total bullshit." _Once I know it's safe, I turn to both of them again, and they drag me through the bath to the sauna, firmly shutting the door behind them.

I'm left standing there for a good two hours before I peer into the glass window. "Uh, guys? Are you alright in there…?"

"Perfectly fine!" Taka says, sweat pouring down his face. "I could go another eight hours or so!"

"Oh really?" Mondo says, pompadour sagging downward slightly. "Lookin like you're a little red in the face to me man. You might want to quit before you pass out!"

"My face is naturally red!" Taka says, laughing slightly. "I think you're the one who should leave, you look like you're a little out of breath!"

As they continue their banter, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around to see Mukuro looking at me, arms crossed. "Are those two idiots seriously in there?" I nod. "Why are you even watching them?"

I sigh with a shake of my head. "They wanted a witness to their battle." She nods at me.

"Well I need to talk to you, so I'm gonna spring you out." She gestures for me to move off to the side, and I nod, not really understanding what she's doing.

She moves so that her face is directly visible in the window and puts on a Cheshire-like grin. Before I can ask what she's doing, she throws the door open wide and yells out.

"God damn Brows, you're hung!"

Taka's hands fly to cover his crotch, even though it wasn't visible in the first place because of the towel. "J-J-Junko! What are you doing in here!? It's definitely the guy's time to use the bath house!"

"Uhm, Taka?" I say, doing my best not to laugh at the look on his face. "It's actually night time."

His face is a brilliant shade of crimson, and he immediately walks over and shuts the door to the sauna. "Makoto! Go out to the front and make sure no one else gets in here! We need to finish our battle in peace!"

I mock salute and turn to leave with Mukuro behind me, but not before I hear Mondo's barking laugh. "Dude, your girlfriend is nuts!"

"She's not my girlfriend!"

* * *

><p>Once we're safely out to the locker area, she flops down on the bench and begins fanning herself with her hand. I decide to remain standing, not wanting to lower my guard around the girl I don't actually know anything about. She glances up at me and shakes her head.<p>

"You might as well sit down. I'm not going to pull anything." I give her a hesitant nod and sit down on the bench across from her. She regards me for a few moments before she speaks again. "I have a lot of questions for you Makoto." Her voice sounds similar to how she usually has it, but it's much cooler than it normally is. More natural.

"And I have a lot for you, Mukuro." I say, crossing my arms.

Her eyes widen slightly at my use of her actual name, and she glares at me. "Let's start there. How exactly do you know my real name? Your memory should have been wiped with everyone else."

"Oh it was." I say with a nod. "I've just been through this once before." I say nonchalant. I'm not entirely sure if this is the way I should handle this, but being blunt seemed to have worked with her the first time.

She looks at me surprised before her expression sobers. "I think you may need to explain from the very beginning."

So I do. I tell her all about the first time, who died, when they died, who killed them. I tell her about Junko's plans to kill her from the very beginning to hide her actual identity, and about how she nearly succeeded. The entire time I talk, she looks at me with an extremely troubled look on her face, flinching slightly as I go over certain parts involving Taka and her sister.

"So after your sister executed herself," I say, taking a breath after the long winded explanation. "She left a red button that was supposed to let us out of the building. Once I pressed it though, I ended up blacking out. The next thing I know, I'm back in the classroom where I originally woke up, with everyone who died alive and kicking."

She stays quiet for what seems like an eternity before nodding at me. "I believe you. Even before now, you were never the type to tell a lie like this. You'd let it slip almost instantly." She shakes her head sadly. "I'm… not surprised that Junko killed me. There's nothing on this earth that she loves more than causing despair. Especially if it's her own." She then plays with a strand of her hair, falling silent.

I clear my throat to get her attention. "Now I have a couple questions for you." I say, looking her dead in the eye. "First off, why are you working with Junko in the first place? You don't seem to be completely… insane. What's your goal?"

She twirls her hair slightly. "…It was so she would love me again." I look at her, stunned. She continues in a small voice. "From the very beginning, we were all we had. But when I went off to join Fenrir, things changed. For the longest time after my return she had refused to even acknowledge my existence… until one day." She gets a faraway look in here eyes. "She came to me asking for her help with this plan; a plan to cause despair in everyone, so they could all enjoy it as much as her." Her eyes become slightly misty. "She- She said she would forgive me if I did… and her love is all I ever wanted in life. It wasn't hard for me to agree."

My eyes widen as I look at her. "You… so you'd gladly watch all of us die so that she'd love you…?"

"No." She says, frowning. "Never gladly; you all are our precious friends you know. Even if you don't remember it."

My temper flares suddenly. "Then… why!?" I say, nearly shouting at her. "Why would you go through with this horrible plan if you care so much for all of us!?"

She doesn't meet my gaze. "I'd bet you'd do anything for your family Makoto. She's all I have in this world…" She stares at her right hand where her tattoo would be. "I was blindly hoping that we'd all be able to live together here. It was ignorant, I know, but… it's what you all were planning to do in the first place." She looks directly at me. "But now my resolve has hardened."

I eye her suspiciously. "What… do you mean…?"

She doesn't answer me directly, but instead moves to where she's sitting beside me on the bench. "This plan… is destined for failure. From what you've told me, you already know the entire scope of our plans. You know who she is, you know what she wants, and more importantly you have the tools to stop her." She sighs and tilts her head up. "You have hope. So the only thing I can do is give my sister exactly what she wants…" She lightly grips my hand on the bench. It's uncomfortable, but I don't pull away. "I'm going to make her despair as much as I can… by helping you all escape."

I turn to look at the soldier, and I nearly gasp in surprise when I see tears freely falling down her cheeks. "Mukuro…"

She suddenly continues, cutting me off. "I know what I've done so far is unforgivable. You have no reason at all to believe what I'm saying, and I don't expect you to. But now I know what I need to do." She turns to me, gaze hard. "If you have anything else to ask me, I'll do my best to tell you what I know. You may think I'm lying, but I still feel like I need to tell you."

The way she's looking at me makes me feel like she's sincere. Against my better judgment, I nod at her. "…Alright. Let me start with something that's been bugging me…" I scratch the back of my head. "Why have Byakuya and I been thrown back like this? Does it have something to do with Junko and the plan?"

She looks at me, confused. "Byakuya remembers as well?" I nod. "I see… well to answer your question, not that I know of. As far as I know she didn't have plans to give you a chance to leave in the first place."

"I'll believe that. A lot of what she did seemed to be whims of hers..." I crack my neck with a sigh. "Next… a lot of the technology that she uses, like Monokuma and those execution devices, does she come up with those herself?"

She shakes her head. "No. She has several followers who are willing to do her bidding at any moment… the most notable of which are former students here. They're willing to do anything for her, and are by far more dangerous than all the others. They're the ones who come up with and maintain a lot of what goes on around here."

My eyes widen. "Students… you mean like us?"

"Right… they were actually in the freshman class with all of you." She says with a sigh. "She got in their heads and corrupted them all, exploiting their deepest fears and weaknesses so that they'd fall into the deepest pits of despair. They're not all always here, but certain ones usually are."

I stop to think for a moment while I process her words. The students she's talking about were freshman like us… except they didn't have two years of their lives ripped away. I feel slightly jealous, but at the same time I feel awful for them. Junko brainwashed them all… and now they all live for despair, completely loyal to the one who put them there. I silently make a vow to try and help them.

"Alright. Next, I'd like to ask you about Kyoko…" I bite the inside of my cheek for a moment. "Where is she now?"

Mukuro goes silent before answering. "The infirmary."

I perk up slightly. "So she's still alive?!"

She nods. "She is, but…" She trails off and looks to the side. "The Ultimate Nurse is keeping her in a medically induced coma. She's safe of course, but I have a feeling that Junko is planning on using her for something. I'm sorry I can't tell you more."

I try not to look as worried as I feel. "I expected as much… if I'm being honest, I wasn't expecting her to live. She was bleeding out so fast… I'm just glad there's a chance that I can save her." I say with a sigh.

She shoots me the smallest of smiles. "I'm sure that you'll be able to. With hope like yours, there's not much that my sister can stand up to." She yawns and stretches out her arms. "Anything else you'd like to know?"

I cock my head to the side, wracking my brain for serious questions. "Well… nothing serious, but there are a few things I want to know about before."

She raises an eyebrow. "Before… what?"

"Before we had our memories wiped."

"…Of all the things you could ask, that's what you pick?" She asks, stunned. "Well whatever, I said I'd answer any of your questions… fire away."

I nod. "Alright so… we were all friends right?"

"Yes." She says, scratching her cheek slightly. "Of course some of us got along better than others, but that's pretty much to be expected with how some of these people act."

"Well what about you?" I say, tilting my head to the side. "Who did you usually hang around with?"

"Well…" She seems a little uncomfortable talking about it, but she continues on anyway. "When I wasn't around Junko, I was usually hanging out with either those idiots…" She gestures to the sauna door. "or… you."

"…What?" I ask, somewhat stupefied.

"Yeah… you were basically the class favorite. You broke down everyone's barriers and managed to change some of the worst people for the better. Even me." She scratches the back of her head. "In the beginning I was treating it like a mission; I wasn't going to get close to any of you. But then you just kept on coming up to me, until I was forced to accept that you weren't going to leave me alone… and that sorta led to my hanging out with Taka and the idiot squad."

I stay quiet for a few moments. _"So we were friends." _I think, glancing over at Mukuro. _"I'm not really surprised though… she seems to be a pretty nice person going off of what I knew about her before. I was expecting her to be a terrible person like her sister. Talk about a pleasant surprise."_

"Wait…" I say, something finally occurring to me. "Idiot squad?"

She lets out a long-suffering sigh. "Yeah. It basically consisted of Mondo, Leon, Taka, and Chihiro… Chihiro isn't an idiot of course, but he was lumped in together with them because they were always together."

Something clicks as she says this. "Wait… so did Chihiro tell us all that he was a boy last time?"

"He actually got found out pretty early on." She says, tilting her head in thought. "It was surprising of course, but most people didn't treat him any differently than before. He was still the same person we all came to know, just… not a girl."

"Uhm… Do you… remember how Mondo reacted?" I ask, hoping for a good answer.

"He… didn't take it too well at first from what I remember... I think it was mostly because of the fact that he had a really poorly concealed crush on Chihiro though."

I start at this. "He-He did!? Did they ever make up after that?"

Confused, she nods slightly. "Like I said, it was only at first. Pretty soon they were all good again… even better actually."

I quirk an eyebrow. "Even better…?"

Before she has a chance to respond, Mondo and Taka come out of the bath, hooting and hollering.

"Bawhahaha! Man, you said it bro! I had no idea you were so awesome!" Mondo says, clapping Taka on the back.

Taka responds with a hearty laugh of his own. "Haha, I have to say the same brother! I never would have guessed how great you were! I apologize for what I've been like so far!"

Mondo shakes his head. "No, I've gotta be the one to apologize. I've been a real shitty person to ya."

I share a look of mutual disgust with Mukuro as we watch the extremely bromantic scene unfold in front of us. "Should we leave them alone…?" I whisper giving her a sidelong glance.

She shakes her head. "Nah. That wouldn't be nearly as fun as what I have in mind." She suddenly gets a wicked grin on her face that isn't entirely her own, and she very loudly clears her throat, catching the attention of the two bros.

Taka's hands immediately fly south and his face turns as red as his eyes. "Junko! Makoto! What are you both still doing here!? It's extremely late!" Mondo only grins and waves at me. I wave back slightly.

Mukuro stretches and stands, very openly eyeing up Taka. "Oh you know, after you told him to look out for other people, I decided to stay behind and talk with him! He would have probably gotten bored all on his own." She then grins at him, clearly enjoying herself at his expense.

"W-Well whatever the case!" Taka says, waving us off. "It's indecent for a woman to be in here when there are naked men!"

"Awh Brows, don't be so mean to Makoto!" Mukuro says, crossing her arms.

"I wasn't referring to him!" He sputters indignantly. He uses the hand he's not covering his crotch with to point at the door. "Please, just leave so that we may change!"

She only laughs and grabs my wrist. "Well fine, us girls are out of here!" She turns and winks at Taka. "I'll catch ya later Brows!"

As she pulls me out of there, I can't help but laugh. "Really… do you really like seeing him squirm that much?"

She responds with a laugh of her own. "It's just cute when he acts like that!" Her eyes go wide and her hand flies to her mouth when she realizes what she just said. She turns to run off, but I catch her wrist.

"Wait!" I whisper, looking at the panicking girl. "You think he's cute?"

"No! It was just a slip of the tongue!" She says, cheeks dusted pink.

I don't buy it for a second. "You do! You think he's cute!" I gasp. "Have you… liked him since before?" I say, leaning in closer to her.

She turns away. "What- No! When did you become such a hen!?" She looks at me and glares, cool demeanor suddenly in place. "It doesn't matter. Drop it." She then turns away from me again and heads to her room, slamming the door shut on the way.

"_That was… a violent reaction."_

Mondo's P.o.V:

I glance back to my newfound bro. He still seems really flustered from Junko's teasing.

"Dude, you alright?" I pull on my jacket and check my hair. Still stylin.

He looks up at me once he pulls on his tank top. "Perfectly fine brother! Why do you ask?"

I scratch my head. "Well for one…" I point to his pants. "Ya put those on backwards." I laugh as he scrambles to fix them. "Bro, you must be pretty into her to freak out like that over her seeing your wang."

"B-Brother!" He yells. "I don't have a crush on Junko! She and I are merely friends!"

"Oh really?" I say, crossing my arms. I stare at him until he starts to squirm and finally speaks up.

"W-well…" He bites his lip. "I wouldn't say that I don't find her attractive… T-This simply isn't the situation in which people should be starting romantic relationships!"

I sigh and shake my head, putting my hand on his shoulder. "Bro, you gotta lighten up a little. This situation is pretty shitty sure, but that's no reason not to hang with her."

He stares at me, confused. "What? What do you mean brother!? We need to focus on leaving this awful place!"

I scratch my chin. "Well… We're definitely gonna get out of here eventually. But we dunno when that's gonna be! No one's sayin ya have to completely stop lookin for a way out of here, but it wouldn't hurt to spend a little bit of that time with her too."

"But we do spend time together! We're always searching the school together you know!" He says grinning.

I sigh and shake my head. Poor bastard has no idea what I'm actually talking about!

"Naw man, I meant with _just_ her. Maybe in one of your rooms or something?" I say, wiggling my eyebrows at him.

He cocks his head to the side. "You mean like… to study?"

I almost fall over. Is he that much of a prude!? "Dude, have you ever even been with a chick before?"

"Of course not!" He says, crossing his arms. "It would have gotten in the way of my studying! Not to mention…" He kicks at the ground. "I've never really looked at a girl in such a way before I met Junko…"

I rub my hand over my forehead. "Man… you gotta be shitting me right now! You're like a fucking grade school kid!" I crack my neck. "Alright bro, what I meant by spending time alone with her… is sorta like studying. 'Cept what you're gonna be studying is her bod, got it?"

It takes him a bit to process my words before his face lights up. "W-W-What are you talking about!? No way! That's completely inappropriate for someone our age! Not to mention we haven't even been out on a date yet… That's not following proper procedure!"

I shake my head at my bro's outlook. "Dude… if you wanna make it happen with blondie, you've gotta be forward with her!"

"I do not wish to simply "make it happen" with her brother! I wish to have an actual relationship!" He looks surprised by his own words, but he doesn't try to take them back. "What about you and Chihiro? Do you wish to simply "make it happen" with her?"

I bite my cheek to keep myself from yelling. "I already told ya bro, me 'n her are just friends!"

"That's not how this is going to work!" He says, crossing his arms. "You made me confess my feelings for Junko, so it is only fair that you come clean with me about your crush!"

I start to yell without even thinking. "I didn't fucking make you say anything about it! Why the hell should I spill my guts about Chihiro if you're just loose-lipped!"

"Aha!" He says, triumphant grin on his face. "So you do like her! I was correct all along!" I mumble a curse under by breath at my screw up.

"Fucking fine, I think she's cute! Happy?" I say, glaring at him. "That doesn't mean I'm gonna do shit about it though!"

"But why brother!?" He says, shocked look on his face.

"'Cause…" I say, rubbing the back of my neck. "We're like, total opposites. I'm loud 'n stupid, and she's smart 'n nice. Not to mention I'm on a ten person losing streak right now!" I kick one of the lockers as I say this, cursing it to hell.

"Ten person…" Taka trails off for a moment and then snaps his fingers. "You mean the last ten girls you've asked out have rejected you?"

I sigh, nodding a little. "It's only with girls who I actually like though, not the broads I just hit and quit. Whenever I get nervous I end up yelling and cursing a whole fucking lot, and they end up getting scared and running off." I cross my arms. "I don't want to fuck up what we've got going on just to add another person to my streak."

"Oh come now brother, I don't think she would do that to you!" He claps me on the back. "Chihiro seems like such a nice person from what little I've talked to her!"

"That's the other thing!" I let out an exasperated sigh. "I've only known her for two weeks! I barely know anything about the girl, but I feel like I've known her for years! It's too fucking weird for me."

He starts slightly. "You mean you feel that way as well?"

I feel my eye twitch. "You sayin that you think that about Junko too?"

He nods. "Like we've been friends for the longest time. For whatever reason, I didn't have nearly as much trouble with her as I do with other people when I first meet them! Actually…" He starts grimacing slightly. "It's been like that with most everyone here… that I've talked in depth to at least." Taka shakes his head. "But that's not important right now!"

He walks up to me and gives me a stern look. "Whatever the case may be, you still like her, whether or not you want to accept it!" I open my mouth to talk, but he cuts me off. "I'm not saying you must act immediately brother, but you should at least attempt to start a relationship with her! Of course I'll be supporting you when you do decide to try!" He turns away and starts to walk off, but not before turning back to me and grinning one last time.

"It's the least I can do after you helped me sort out my own feelings you know!" He then walks out of the locker area, shouting a very loud goodnight as he leaves.

I stare after him, seriously confused. _"Did I just get lectured by someone who doesn't know shit about dating?"_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry about that last bit... not really. I also may have lied about the plot development... unless you count Mukuro and Makoto's little exchange development. I'm hoping it'll pick up next chapter, but I'm sorta coming up with this shit as it goes. xD Such is life.**


	10. Chapter 9: PERSONA!

Chapter 9: PERSONA!

Makoto's P.o.V:

I wake up with a start because of Monokuma's morning announcement. No matter how many times I hear it, it still manages to put me on edge...!

I quickly shower and dress, not wanting to hold up the morning meeting. I stroll out of my room whistling a little tune when someone suddenly taps me from behind.

"Ohmygod-" I quickly round to see Byakuya staring at me. "O-Oh, hey Byakuya! Good morning!" I say, trying to ignore the unmanly squeak I let out.

"Good morning to you as well Makoto…" He smirks, because he definitely heard it. "I trust that you slept well?"

I scratch the back of my head. "Oh, uh, yeah! Completely fine… why do you ask?"

His smirk fades slightly, with a worried light in his eyes. "After what had happened yesterday… I was concerned that you'd not be able to get a proper night's sleep."

My face heats up. "U-Uh… well yeah! I slept fine…" I can't bring myself to look him in the eye, so I opt to stare at the ground. "Thanks for asking…"

A few moments of silence pass, and I feel like my heart is going to leap up into my throat. Suddenly, something so unexpected happens that I begin to question my existence.

He hugs me.

He freaking _hugs_ me.

My heart is thumping hard against my rib cage as I try to process what's happening. Byakuya doesn't hug people! He doesn't even touch people! So why…!?

"I… was worried." He murmers. His voice is so low that I have to fight to hear him. "I hated… that you had to see such a thing. I'm glad you seem to be alright." Just as suddenly as it began, he lets me go and walks past me toward the dining hall without another word.

I'm left rooted to my spot, trying to slow down my heart beat. I quickly look around to see if anyone saw it, and I let out a little sigh of relief that even the camera seemed to be turned away. He probably made sure of that…

"_He was… so warm." _I think, trying to steady my breath. _"I don't know what's happening to me! Up till now I was so certain that I couldn't like a boy, and that he was just an egotistical jerk… and in a grand total of two seconds, he made me question both of those ideas!" _I feel myself getting dizzy and I quickly walk back to my room. I make a b-line for the bed and quickly bury my head in the pillow.

"_Oh god oh god oh god! Why is it that I decide to go through a sexuality crisis during the literal most inappropriate time of my life!? And the one person I could think of to talk to about it is in Junko's care! What the hell!?"_ I suddenly hope that the bed sheets swallow me whole. _"I don't know how I'm supposed to deal with this!" _

I stay still for a good ten minutes before I hop off the bed, deciding I've wasted enough time freaking out. I make a quick pit-stop in the bathroom to splash my face with water before I head out again, this time determined to make it to the dining hall.

After my short journey, I walk into the dining hall. Mondo waves at me. "Yo, Makoto!" He grins. "How's it going?"

"Hey Mondo." I greet, shooting him a small smile. Looking around the dining hall, I notice that someone's missing. "…Where's Chihiro?"

He frowns suddenly. "I went by her room not too long ago… Said she wasn't feeling too good. She didn't even open the door!"

Taka pats his shoulder. "Worry not brother! I'm certain that she's fine!"

He grimaces. "She prolly is but… I can't help but worry about her man."

"Oh, so touching!" Monokuma bellows, suddenly appearing between the two boys. "I didn't know you had feelings for the little geek! Ba-dum, ba-dum!"

Mondo's face goes red with indignation. "Like hell I do! How's it any of your business anyway!?"

"Upupupupu!" He giggles, putting his paws to his cheeks. "It's a headmaster's duty to keep a watchful eye over his students! Of course, that includes when they take their first shaky steps onto the path of love!"

"Pardon me saying this…" Celes says, plaster smile firmly in place. "But what does this have to do with your little game?"

"It doesn't!" He cheers. "But since it's just a _little_ too soon for me to give you all your next motive… I've come up with the perfect way to pass the time!"

Leon gets a nervous look on his face. "I'm seriously afraid to ask but… what?"

"I'm going to teach a Sex Ed class!" He says without missing a beat.

…

…

Oh dear god _what?_

Mukuro immediately replies. "You've gotta be shitting me."

"Nope nope!" Monokuma wags a claw. "I'm dead serious. You kiddies need to properly face the embarrassment of Sex Ed! Oh my, are you guys in luck! I've got diagrams and pictures of STD's and everything! It's gonna be a hoot!"

Sakura raises her hand. "Is attendance… mandatory?" She says with a grimace.

Monokuma looks shocked. "That you'd even consider skipping after all the work I put in…!" He puts his paws on his hips. "Tell ya what, since Chihiro isn't here, I'll let someone else skip too. Juuust to be fair. Decide amongst yourselves kiddies~ I'll be back in a flash with the projector!"

As he disappears, I immediately raise my hand. "I volunteer to skip." My statement is met with immediate protest.

"Like hell bro!" Mondo says with a scowl. "I've gotta be the one to skip, I need to go check on Chihiro!"

I shake my head at him. "What did you think I was gonna do? I'm worried too you know!"

Sakura steps forward. "While I think we're all eager to leave, I feel like it should be either Mondo or Makoto. I am concerned for Chihiro as well, so I feel it is best if either of them leave to care for her."

While everyone grumbles in agreement, Mukuro speaks up. "I think it should be Makoto in that case. He's definitely more of the caretaker type, ya know?"

Just as Mondo opens his mouth to protest, Taka cuts him off. "I think you should let him go brother! After the discussion you and I had last night, I think it would be prudent for you to stay for this!" He crosses his arms, turning a pointed gaze on him.

"What does that have to do with me being taught Sex Ed by a god damn bear!?" He says, face crimson. He then turns to me and responds to my silent question. "Look, I'll tell ya all about it later Makoto, but right now I need to get the fuck out-" He cuts himself off then Taka suddenly flings himself onto his back. "What the fuck!?"

"Run Makoto!" He says, clinging to his neck. "This is for his own good, he must stay!" Mondo almost throws him off, but suddenly Mukuro joins in and clings to Mondo's leg.

"Seriously Makoto, go now!" She says, doing her best to impede him. "Standing there gawking like an idiot isn't going to save your ass from this sham of a class!" I nod at them both before turning tail and hauling ass out of the dining room.

* * *

><p>I can still hear Mondo's screams of protest as the doors to the dining hall shut and lock, sealing the others inside as a captive audience for Monokuma's class. I'm grateful for the opportunity to talk to Chihiro without being watched by Junko, but at the same time… I feel really bad about how it happened.<p>

"_She really is unstable…"_

I quickly make my way to the room with Chihiro's sprite on it and hit the doorbell. I wait there for a few minutes before I decide to try knocking. "Hey, Chihiro? It's Makoto, could you please open up?" I'm left standing there for a few moments before the door suddenly flies open.

"Woah!" I'm grabbed by my arm and pulled into the room, door slamming shut behind me. I look at Chihiro, who's in a frilly night gown and is currently looking at me with tear-stained cheeks. "Hey, Chihiro, what's wrong? Why didn't you come out when Mondo came by earlier, he's really worried!"

"…" He bites his lip a little and plays with the hem of his nightie. "I… couldn't." He says after a few beats of silence.

I raise an eyebrow at him. "Why not?"

He sighs and his shoulders slump slightly. "If I let him see me like this, he'd insist that I tell him what's bothering me… since he's my handkerchief and all." He smiles a little at this, but he suddenly frowns again. "But he's the one person I absolutely can't talk to about it."

I scratch my head, already having a bad feeling about what it is. "You mean about what I told you yesterday?" He nods. "Well… what conclusion did you come to?" I say nervously.

"I…" His lip starts trembling and before I know it, he's launched himself in my arms. "I- Oh god Makoto, I like him! So, so much…" He's broken into a sobbing fit at this point and I hug him to me. "Makoto, I… I don't know what I'm going to do! This is the worst!"

I manage to move us over to the bed so we can sit, and I opt to just let him cry for a while. His sobs eventually turn into just sniffles, and I manage to pull him away from me. "Feel any better?"

He nods slightly, blowing his nose into a tissue. "Just a little… but Makoto, what should I do? There's no way he'd accept my feelings for him if he knew I was a boy! And from what you tell me, he's going to! Not to mention now is not really the time for something like this…" He hugs his knees to himself slightly, looking ready to start up the water works again. "This is just so… complicated. I wish I knew how he was gonna react…"

"I, ah… might be able to help with that." His head shoots up and I awkwardly scratch the back of my head. "I talked to Mukuro last night."

"W-What…?" He says, stunned. "Why would you do that? Isn't she our enemy?"

I shake my head. "That's what I thought, but she's… not that bad. I'm still a little wary of her, but she told me that she was going to try and help us escape." I sigh at his dubious look. "I get how you feel but… I dunno, if you had seen her… I think you would have believed her too."

He quietly regards me for a moment before he nods slightly. "…Alright. If you think she's alright to trust… I'll do my best to do so as well." He then perks up and leans in slightly. "So… you talked to her."

I nod. "I had some questions I wanted answered. I only had a few serious questions, so I decided to ask about our school lives that we had taken away from us. Apparently you were found out last time as well."

He looks stunned for a second, but then he nudges closer to me. "And? What did she tell you? Did you ask about Mondo?"

I nod, a bit put-off by his eagerness. "Well… she said he didn't take it well at first." He looks ready to cry again, but I quickly cut him off. "Wait, let me finish! She told me he didn't take it well at first, but she also said that he got over it pretty quickly and you guys were better than you were originally!"

He looks a little relieved at least, but then he raises an eyebrow. "Better how?"

I laugh slightly. "She didn't get a chance to say. Mondo and Taka interrupted us when their bro-down ended."

"…Bro-down?" He suddenly shakes his head. "Oh, that doesn't matter! D-Do you think we could go… talk to her?"

"Er." I cough awkwardly into my hand. "There are a couple issues with that…" He stares at me confused and I sigh. "Well… for one, I wouldn't personally feel right about it. I only asked 'cause I thought it would help comfort you a bit… but I think it was better that she didn't tell me. You said it yourself; people could act differently than they have in the past. I don't want you banking on something like that."

He looks disappointed, but he nods. "…You're right. Thank you for reminding me Makoto." He puts a finger to his lips. "I suppose… I just need to work up some courage. If I stay here and mope, my chances of success aren't going to get any better…" He nods to himself. "That's right! I need to buck up! I'm still really scared of what's going to happen, but… I have hope that he won't actually hate me."

Not being able to help myself, I ruffle his hair. "Heh… You know, you don't give yourself enough credit. You've gotta be one of the strongest people I know to make a turn around like that so quickly."

He blushes slightly. "T-Thanks Makoto…" He stretches out his arms and turns to me. "So uh… what was the other reason we couldn't go talk to Mukuro?"

"Ohh. That. Yeahhhhh…." I laugh a little. "Monokuma decided to teach an impromptu… Sex Ed class."

He looks absolutely mortified. "A-Are you serious…?"

I nod a little. "I only got out of it because you weren't there… he said something about being fair or something."

He looks confused. "No one else tried to leave?"

"Oh no, everyone was pretty eager. But Mondo and I both wanted to check on you, so it came down to the two of us… and for whatever reason, Taka wanted Mondo to stay for the class. He and Mukuro held him off while I bolted."

He giggles a little, but then frowns. "I hope he won't be too mad at you…"

I shake my head. "I don't think he will. It was more Taka's fault than anything."

He nods and lays back on the bed. "Well, if I'm being honest… I'm glad it was you who came. I don't think I could have talked to Mondo properly, if what happened earlier was any hint." He looks up at me with curious eyes. "You know… since you've done so much to help me out, would you mind… if I asked about you some?"

I smile down at my small friend. "Not at all. What did you want to know?"

"Are you and Byakuya romantically involved?"

…

"…Huh?" I manage after a beat of shocked silence.

"You know… I've sort of had my suspicions since yesterday." He says, tilting his head to the side. "Byakuya is sort of rude to everyone else, but with you… he seems to be pretty gentle."

I can't help the mess that comes out of my mouth. "I- I uh, no? N-Not really. I-It's purely platonic, alright? Anyway, I should really go see if that class is over, I-I'll talk to you later Chihiro!" I turn to leave, but he catches my wrist.

"H-Hold on Makoto!" He says, surprised. "What's wrong? You were talking like… well, me." I feel my face heat up, but I don't say anything. He sighs. "I'm not going to force you to tell me or anything… B-But as your friend, I'd like to know if something's wrong!"

So I spill my guts. I tell him about everything that's happened between us; him licking my neck, saying I was attracted to him, his abnormal kindness, and the hug in the hall that caused me to doubt everything I knew about myself.

"I-I had honestly thought I was perfectly straight! But after that hug, I ran back to my room and buried my head in my pillow having a near panic attack, because oh shit, _I might be gay._" I let out a shaky sigh. "How is it that I need to have this major life crisis in the middle of another major life crisis?! It's not alright!"

Chihiro nods solemnly. "I understand that feeling… I was basically doing the same thing after you asked me to think about Mondo." He sighs a little. "Of course I wasn't expecting it; I didn't ever think of someone like that before. And now all of a sudden I do, but he's a guy like me? I was beside myself!" He taps his chin a little. "But tell me this Makoto… do you think there's anything wrong with being gay?"

I look at him in shock. "What? No!" I rub my hand over my arm. "I knew some gay people before I came here, I just… didn't think I was."

He huffs slightly. "Well then… it's not really a problem right?"

"Of course it's a problem!" I near shriek. "This is Byakuya we're talking about! Last time he was treating me like trash, and now he suddenly does this to me!? Doesn't that make me a masochist or something?" I flop down on the bed next to him. "…Of course that's not really true, he really has changed. I just… don't know what to do about these feelings. Like you said, it's complicated!"

He stays silent for a while… longer than I would have liked. I glance over to see a contemplative look on his face. He speaks a short while after I turn to him.

"You… should talk to Byakuya about them." He sits up and looks me in the eye, putting a hand to his chest. "From what I gather your feelings seem to be the same as his… regardless of whether or not you feel comfortable with it. I-I think that if you try to discuss your insecurities with him, he'll be more than willing to hear you out."

I gulp. "But… what if he doesn't? I know he's the one who started all of this, but I'm not certain if he feels the same way I do… there's still this part of me that thinks he's just messing with me."

"Look Makoto…" Chihiro starts with a sigh. "I don't know anything other than what I've learned off of dating sims about romance… so I'm just going to tell you about what I feel." He twirls a strand of his hair between his fingers. "If I could just talk to Mondo about this… I would. Because otherwise things won't change."

I look off to the side for a moment before I turn back to him. "…I guess I'll try talking to him about it… eventually." I raise an eyebrow at him when something occurs to me. "But wait… that motive is coming soon anyway. Can't you tell him after you reveal yourself?"

He shakes his head a little. "I… just want he and I to still be friends after he finds me out. Asking for anything more would be selfish of me."

"Hold up!" I say, sitting up off the bed. "I thought you said you were gonna try your best to succeed?"

He bites his lip. "I-I am! I'm going to do my best to make sure that he and I are still friends!" He looks away from me. "…I never said anything about getting him to return my feelings."

"But why?" I say, crossing my arms. He opens his mouth, but I cut him off. "Don't you dare say it's because he's straight. Because I am proof that _that_ particular preference is not set in stone." My cheeks flush at my words, but I keep a firm gaze on him. He then goes silent and simply opts to stare at his feet, knowing full well that was the exact excuse he was going to give me.

"Look, I'm not gonna force you to confess to him. If you want to just make sure you're still friends first, go for it…" I scratch the back of my head. "I just want you to be happy, alright?"

He looks up and smiles at me. "…Thanks Makoto." He pops off the bed and heads over to his dresser. "You better do what makes you happy too… I don't like it when you're the one stuttering and I'm not." I can't help but laugh slightly at his joke, even if it was sorta bad.

He comes back with an armful of clothes and looks at me. "O-Oh, uh… do you think you could wait outside for a bit?" He scratches his cheek slightly. "I know we're both boys but… it's still weird for me." I nod a little in understanding and quickly exit the room so that he can change in peace.

Kjhfhafshsfhsfkfhkfhafsdhjavsf;haf

Chihiro's P.o.V:

The next several hours pass in relative peace. It turns out that Makoto and I were in my room for quite some time, because when we left to get something to eat in the dining hall, Monokuma's… "class", was just letting out. Our friends end up stumbling out one by one, with varying shades of disgust and exhaustion clear on their faces. Mondo especially had looked worse for wear, but he managed to shoot me a shaky smile before he quickly left for his room as everyone else had.

Not wanting to know what they faced in the dining hall, Makoto and I quickly make our way to the library. We end up staying in there for most of the day with our friends out for the count. The first two hours were spent reading, but Makoto had quickly grown bored. He started building a fort out of the books! I tried to get him to stop, but he insisted we could just put them back later. After a while I just decided to help him… and I hate to admit it was really fun.

"Aaaand, there!" Makoto says, finishing the last tower on the outside. "Wow, this has got to be one of the best forts I've ever built! I kinda want to live in it…"

I can't help but agree with my lucky friend. We had used the bookshelves as the main walls for the fort, pushing them back so they touched the wall. We covered the top with a blanket we had pulled out of the warehouse, and piled the inside with blankets and pillows as well. As for the entrance, we ended up stacking the books in such a way where you'd have to crawl through a small entranceway, basically only big enough for Makoto and I to squeeze through. It was really quite the sight.

"I agree!" I cheer, smiling at him. "It's almost a shame we have to take it down…"

He grins at me. "Well, who says we have to? It's not like anyone is reading in here… besides Byakuya, but that's not the point." He stretches. "It's way too magnificent to just tear down! Let's just leave it!"

"You don't think anyone would be mad?" I say, frowning. "I can't help but think someone would get irritated by it."

He blows a raspberry. "Aww, who cares? We worked hard on it!" Suddenly, Makoto turns to look at the clock, eyes widening when he sees that it's already eight thirty. He turns and looks at me in shock. "Holy crap, is it seriously that late already? Come on Chihiro, let's head back…"

We slowly make our way back to the dorms, chatting the entire time. We end up parting ways once he gets to his room, and I quickly make my way down the hall to my own. When I put my hand on the knob however, something suddenly occurs to me.

I want to take a bath.

It's a really strange urge, but I decide that now would probably be the best time to do it… since most people are still in their rooms after all. I turn around and head back the way I came toward the bath house, quickly stripping down and slinging a towel around my torso. Sparing a second to put all of my clothes in the locker with the laptop, I move to grab all the soaps and sundries I need for my bath out of the stuff available.

"_Wow… it's so nice in here!" _Walking into the main bath, I marvel at the sight of how massive it is. "It's pretty steamy though…" I mumble, wiping off some of the moisture that's already collected on my arm. I quickly wash my hair and body with the shower head before I make a b-line to the bath, shuddering slightly as I sink into the warmth.

"_Jeez… I really get why everyone likes this thing so much…" _What had I been missing out on? The water is the perfect temperature, and I fight the urge to fall asleep from how relaxing it is. _"I wonder if anyone's ever actually done that…?"_

"Snk… ngh…"

My head shoots up at the loud snore I hear coming from the other side of the bath. _"How on earth…? I-I didn't see anyone else's clothes in the locker room!"_ It's a little too steamy to see who it is… but that doesn't make me want to run and hide any less.

"_But I can't do that!" _I think, fighting the urge to cry. _"T-They could be in here all night if I don't wake them up! What if someone tries to kill them? They'd be easy prey!" _Suddenly I'm faced with the biggest dilemma I've faced in a long time: how to go about waking someone up while you're naked, but that person doesn't know you're a boy.

I run over various options in my head. _"I could always call out… but that leaves the possibility that they might come over..." _I shake my head. _"No, that won't work… maybe I should just… wrap myself in a towel? B-But, that's so risky! What if it's a girl? They might tell me to just take it off!" _Quickly thinking back to the snore I heard earlier, I don't really think they are… but that doesn't make it any less scary for me.

Steeling my nerves, I quickly exit the bath and wrap my towel loosely around my body, trying not to expose too much. I pad my way around the large bath, finally getting close enough to see who the sleeper is.

And my heart skips a beat.

Sleeping there with his arms propped up on the side of the tub is Mondo. His hair isn't in its usual style with his dyed hair slicked back from washing. A thin line of droll is trailing from his mouth as he snoozes peacefully.

I quickly turn away from him in panic. _"Why Mondo of all people!? T-This is just cruel!_" I can't bring myself to move closer to the sleeping boy, afraid of what he (and I) might see. Thankfully the steam is obscuring my view, but if I get any closer I'm not certain it'll still be so helpful!

Suddenly dizzy, I clutch my towel closer to me and use my free hand to cover my eyes as I carefully shuffle my way over to my sleeping crush, peeking between my fingers so that I don't fall. My breathing grows more erratic as I get closer to him, steam not being nearly as helpful as it was from far away. I'm getting a clear view of his toned body, his tanned skin… his handsome face.

I quickly shake my head to clear my mind of those thoughts, but it only serves to make me dizzier. I stumble a little and trip, landing inches from his face.

...

"…_Oh my god, does he have stubble?"_

...

...

"_I-I can't do this!"_

With my panic reaching its limits, I abruptly stand and move as quickly as I can back to my original spot. I grab the wash basin I had used and throw it down as hard as I can, making it smack loudly to the floor.

"What the fuck!?" He yells as he's startled awake. Seeing that my impromptu plan worked, I leave the bath as fast as I can, grabbing my clothes and the laptop from the locker. I don't even bother changing as I book it back to my room, bundle of clothes concealing the laptop.

I slam the door behind me, sliding down it. _"Oh god, ohhh my_ _god." _There's no way that he didn't see me! _"E-even if he didn't... I was really that close to him! And he was naked!"_

Things definitely just got harder for me.

* * *

><p>My next several days are spent mostly in my room. At first it was because I was trying to avoid running into Mondo, but that didn't help much when he came by my room. He didn't seem to be acting any differently, so I guessed he hadn't actually seen me… but it was still really hard for me not to act more nervous than normal.<p>

When I was originally avoiding him though, I ended up getting started decrypting the files on the computer after I had gotten it running. It wasn't a bad model, though it was a little old. Makoto had also already told me about my computer software that was able to help him and the others, so I was pretty eager to get that started too!

It took me two days of non-stop work to get Alter Ego fully functional. Once it was fully self-aware, I began teaching it everything I could, which thankfully didn't take too long. I then began teaching it about all my friends, especially Makoto and Mondo…

"So, Master," Alter Ego says, smiling up at me. "I'd really like to meet your friends! From what you've told me about them, they seem like wonderful people."

I put my finger to my lips. "Hmm… maybe once we've gone through all the files on this computer. I want to see if we can find anything important on here."

"It shouldn't be too much longer Master! With both of us working on it, we should have it done within the day!" He nods as he says this, seemingly pleased. "I really can't wait!"

I smile down at the excited program. This really is one of my best achievements… to have created something with a will of its own! _"It doesn't really matter if he's modeled after me either… the way things are going, he'll develop his own feelings and thought patterns pretty soon!"_

"Oh, Master?" Alter Ego says, breaking me out of my thoughts. "I do have a question for you though."

"What is it?" I ask, tilting my head to the side.

"Why is it that you hide the fact that you're male? From what you tell me Makoto already knows, and he didn't treat you any differently. Why is it different for everyone else?"

I shake my head at the program. "That's because Makoto already knew from before. I've already told you about the odd situation we're in, and the even odder one he's in. I never actually _told_ him about it."

"I see." He nods slightly at this. "You know… that's another thing I'd like to look into. I don't think there's going to be any information about his circumstance on this computer, but there has to be an explanation for how he had gotten thrown back in the first place."

"You're right about that." I say, frowning. "But for now there isn't much we can do about that. We need to-"

I'm cut off mid-sentence by Monokuma chiming in over the intercom. "This is a school announcement! Will all students please report to the gym immediately? I repeat, will all students report to the gym immediately? See you all there!" He finishes speaking in an ominous tone.

"_Oh no… could it be…?" _I shudder slightly, hugging my arms to myself. _"It's only been a couple of days! Is he seriously going to do this now?"_

"Master?" Alter Ego says, looking up at me in concern. "What's the matter?" I look down at the program with a frown. Curse it for being so perceptive.

"I need to go for now… I think Monokuma may be delivering us another motive." I sigh a little bit.

"You mean… to kill?" I nod. "That's awful! You'll be alright master, I just know it!" Alter Ego looks up at me with a hopeful smile. "Is there anything you'd like me to do while you're away?"

I was about to tell him to just continue scanning the files on the computer, but an idea suddenly strikes me.

"Yes actually! Here's what I'd like you to do…"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: FINALLY, plot development! Even if it's just a tiny bit at the end, it's leading into something pretty plotty! I'm pretty proud, cause I was pretty much drowning in fluff over here.**

**Ick.**

**But yeah, the motive cometh next chapter! Who will kill? Who will be killed? Will everyone just sit by and let their secrets be exposed? Stay tuned!**


	11. Chapter 10: Life Fiber: Synchronize!

Chapter 10: Life Fiber: Synchronize!

Makoto's P.o.V:

A serious knot forms in my stomach at the sound of Monokuma's demand for us to gather in the gym. _"It looks like the next motive is here…" _I think with a grimace. Not wanting to waste any time, I leave my room and lock it behind me.

Just as I start making my way down the hall, someone calls out to me. "Ah, Makoto…!" I turn back to see Chihiro running up to me, worried frown on his face. "Do you think that was…?"

I give him a small nod. "There's no doubt it my mind… It's got to be the next motive."

He shudders slightly, but starts walking in step with me. Then, in a barely audible voice, he whispers to me. "I… asked Alter Ego to start working on something for me."

I'm surprised, but I try to keep my expression neutral as we walk through the halls. "Oh…? What did you tell him to do?"

"Remember how you told me what he did last time…? You know, how you hooked him up and he managed to scavenge information for you?" I nod a little. "W-Well, I decided to better prepare him for that. He's starting to write malware into his coding."

"Malware…?" I turn to him slightly. "Isn't that like a virus?"

"Yes." He affirms with a smile. "With any luck, he may be able to go into the school's network and corrupt the system that's controlling Monokuma and all the weaponry." He starts to fidget slightly. "O-Of course I'm not certain that it'll even work, but I feel like it's worth a shot…"

Suddenly, I'm overcome with a wave of excitement, and I smile down at my small friend. "No… it'll definitely work! I didn't tell you about it before but… Alter Ego actually saved my life."

He barely contains his surprise. "W-What!?" He whispers in a harsh tone. "He… saved you?"

"Yeah!" I say, remembering the memory fondly. "We had all thought he "died" after his execution, but Alter Ego managed to work his way into the school's network. I was about to be executed for a crime I hadn't committed, and just as I was about to be crushed in "detention"… he stopped the machine, and dropped me into the trash chute to get away from Monokuma."

We continue walking for a while in silence, but after a while he speaks up. "He… wants to meet you. You and Mondo, I mean.'' He fiddles with his skirt. "I was a little hesitant at first but… now I know it's a good idea. The way you were talking… It sounded like you were his friend."

I smile, keeping my eyes forward. "We were. He tried so hard to help us all… he even risked his life because he wanted to be useful to us. Kyoko didn't really think of him as a person, saying he was only programmed like that, but… I did. He had his own thoughts and feelings, which is why he helped us like he did." I stretch my arms a little bit. "So yeah, I definitely considered him my friend."

He smiles with the smallest of blushes on his face, but he doesn't say anything else. The rest of our trip is filled with a comfortable silence.

* * *

><p>We enter the gym to see a very impatient Monokuma glaring at us. "Hey hey, what took you two dweebs!? I've been waiting for sooooo long!"<p>

I frown at him. "We only got your message ten minutes ago!"

"And everyone else was here five minutes ago!" He huffs slightly. "You children have no motivation! You've fallen into a state of complacency, completely comfortable with your lives! None of you are stirring the pot, shuffling the deck, or even changing your underwear! …Metaphorically speaking of course! I'm pretty sure someone would have killed someone for being stinky by now." He then strikes a pose. "Of course, I have a plan to shake things up a little bit!"

Mondo glares at him. "The fuck do you mean?"

"Like I said, you guys have become unbelievably _boring_ since that little pop brat's execution. So, so, so! I've come up with a way to motivate you guys into offing each other once more! I personally like this one even more than the last!" He then produces envelopes from behind him, just like he had the last time.

"What I have in my hand… is your next motive! It's thrilling, it's chilling, and most of all, it'll definitely cause some killing!" He tosses the envelopes up in the air, each fluttering to the floor slowly. "Upupupupu! Now, just take the envelope with your name on it, but don't open it! I wouldn't want you spoiling the surprise just yet!"

Sakura collects the envelopes off of the floor, and distributes them to us one by one. Once everyone has one in hand, Monokuma speaks up again.

"Okay good! Everyone has their own envelope!" He takes a dramatic pause. "Ahem Ahem, allow me to explain how this is going to work. Contained within those envelopes is a secret of yours, one that very few people already know, if any!" People start nervously glancing side to side, and he giggles. "Upupupupu! Oh calm down kiddies, it's not like I'm leaking your internet browsing history! That would be wayyy worse! So, if you would be so kind, open up your envelopes!"

Calmly, I rip the seal on the envelope, expecting the same thing as last time.

…

My heart nearly stops when that isn't the case.

Written in a childish scrawl on the piece of paper I'm holding is a single, terrifying sentence:

**Makoto totally has the hots for Byakuya!**

As soon as my brain processes the words on the paper, I quickly crumple it up and stuff it in my pocket. I quickly look up and see mixed variations of horror and embarrassment written on everyone's faces.

Hina is the first to speak up. "Dude, how the heck did you find this out!? I've never told anyone this!"

"Upupupupu! A gentleman never kisses and tells…" He blushes and shuffles his feet a little, but quickly recovers. "So… here's the deal! Unless another murder occurs within the next twenty-four hours, I'll totally broadcast your secrets! Everyone's gonna know the biggest, dirtiest secret that you have, and only the blood of a classmate will keep my adorable lips shut!"

Taka grimaces. "This… this is outrageous! No one would kill to keep a secret from getting out!"

Leon yells out. "Damn straight! Keeping your shit to yourself isn't a reason to do someone in! Period!"

"Oh?" Monokuma says, tilting his head. "People are offed to keep secrets from getting out all the time! Governments, businesses, even regular people do it! Why would it be any different in here? You all have it in you, don't sell yourselves short!"

"We are not selling anything short." Sakura replies cooly. "To kill someone for such a reason… it's inexcusable."

"Upupupupu! Speak for yourselves kiddies, just take a look around the room!" He gestures to everyone. "Do you see it? Do you see the looks on your friend's faces!? They speak volumes more than your words ever will! Don't you get it!? Don't you see!? You can't guarantee something like that! There's something here, a secret someone is going to have to die for!" He turns for a bit, but then looks back at us. "Ah, but enough stating the obvious! The timer starts now kiddies! Either someone dies today, or your secrets get exposed." He then turns back again and waves. "Ti ti effen, ta ta for now!"

As he disappears in a puff of smoke, the atmosphere of the room lightens a tiny amount… and when I say tiny, I mean _tiny._ The tension in the air is thick enough to cut with a knife, but as usual, Taka is completely oblivious to other people's feelings.

"This is absurd!" He cries out, moving to stand in front of us all. "To think he'd we stoop to such a level… he's clearly in the wrong!"

"O-oh yeah!?" Toko screeches, pulling at her braids. "Y-You're completely d-dense if you think no one here has a s-skeleton they weren't willing to kill for!"

"That may be true…" Hifumi chimes in, crossing his arms at the author. "However, there is only a day in which someone has to act! I doubt someone will gain the power up they need to commit such an act in such a small amount of time…" Toko growls at him, but doesn't say anything else and turns away.

Leon snorts. "Yeah, look how long it took Sayaka to try and off someone. It's completely possible!" He cracks his neck. "My secret isn't anything to kill someone over, it's just embarrassing as hell. No worries here."

"Of course…" Celes starts, playing with one of her twin drills. "You can say you won't kill someone all you like, but in the end there's no reason to trust you when you still have your secret in the dark. You could be merely luring us into a false sense of security." Leon stops short at this, glaring at the gothic gambler.

"Well then, we'll make sure to eliminate that possibility!" Taka cheers. "We simply have to tell each other our secrets! That would assure that there isn't a reason to kill someone, because then we'd all already know!"

"It's a good idea in theory Brows… but take a look around." Mukuro directs. I glance around the room as he does, noticing there are already several people who have disappeared… Namely Mondo, Sakura, Toko, Hina, and Hiro. "If we assume everyone that's still here was gonna spill their guts, then we'd all be overly suspicious of the people who already left."

He grimaces, turning his gaze down to the floor. "…Then I shall make a suggestion instead. Unless you are with someone you wholly trust, do not go anywhere aside from your room! It's not that I do not trust you all, but… It's for the best so that everyone else does too!"

With those words he stalks out of the room, clearly upset by our lack of trust in each other. Slowly, everyone else starts to filter out of the gym, until only Chihiro, Mukuro, Byakuya, and I are left. Everyone stays silent.

"_It's obvious we need to come up with a plan of action." _I rub my arm slightly. _"I don't really want to talk to Byakuya right now, but… it doesn't look like I have much say in the matter."_

It's not that I'm having issues with Byakuya… rather, after I had talked it out with Chihiro, I had come to terms with my feelings for the arrogant heir. It was a little awkward for me at first, but after a few shy attempts at conversation on my end, I got comfortable with him again. I still got the warm fuzzies in the pit of my stomach whenever he'd smirk or laugh slightly, but it wasn't that bad.

"_After what I just got though, I don't think I can calmly face him!" _I hadn't been planning on telling him my feelings any time soon, no matter how likely it was for him to return them. _"But now I have to tell him about them…?! This is just the worst…"_

Steeling my nerves for my inevitable confession, I sigh loudly to catch everyone's attention. "Screw this noise! I need a bath…" I start walking toward the doors in a huff.

Mukuro snorts, catching on. "You're not the only one. I think I'm gonna join ya!" I turn to her and nod, and she grins at me. "Just make sure to bring your bathing suit, kay? I don't want you doing anything funny!"

I flush slightly at her words, but nod regardless. Chihiro catches up to us seemingly uncomfortable for some pretty obvious reasons. "O-Oh, uhm… mind if I join you…?"

Mukuro looks skeptical, but I automatically nod. "Hey, the more the merrier! Right Junko?"

She shoots me a side-long look, but nods and grins anyway. "Shoot yeah! We can raid the warehouse for some cute swimsuits! I don't wanna wear those tacky school-issue ones." Chihiro blushes from ear to ear, and she turns to Byakuya. "You comin' along prissy pants? Or are you above sharing a bath with us commoners?"

It's obvious by her expression that she's teasing him, but he just shoots her an unimpressed look. "I… may join you all. I'd like to find some painkillers before I subject myself to that, however." He then passes us and exits the gym, but not before shooting me a look I can't quite decipher.

Mukuro merely shrugs. "Whatever, his loss. Let's get going Chihiro! We'll meet up with Makoto after we pick out our things… He can judge us afterward for fun!" She ignores the horrified look on Chihiro's face and drags him off, leaving me on my own.

I sign in relief a little. _"At least he won't be joining us right off the bat… it gives me some time to sort out what I think."_ I exit the gym, hurrying to grab my swim trunks.

* * *

><p>"Woah, cute butt!" Mukuro cheers as I hurriedly pull up my swim trunks. I turn toward the two newcomers, cheeks blazing. She openly grins at me while poor Chihiro looks like a tomato.<p>

"You don't need to keep acting like that Mukuro, Chihiro knows." I say with a sigh.

She shrugs, tone of voice changing to her own. "I had figured as much when you told him that he could come." Chihiro flinches slightly. "Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that I was lying." I throw a bar of soap at her, which she deftly catches with a small smile.

"Oh shut up." I groan, embarrassed at having been caught with my pants down…. Literally. "I'll be waiting inside so you two can get changed."

Mukuro shakes her head. "No need, we're wearing them under our clothes. What do you think took us so long?" She starts stripping down, with Chihiro fleeing behind the divider in the room to strip as well.

"I dunno! Maybe you were actually taking time picking out swimsuits?" I say with a huff, turning my eyes away.

She snorts. "Apparently Junko hadn't trusted my fashion sense, so she sent in Monokuma to pick some out for us. I told him repeatedly that I could handle it, but he kept saying things like "Silly models who only wear strings shouldn't talk!" She was probably afraid I'd pick out something plain and expose her or something stupid like that."

Mukuro's words are harsh, but I nod slightly knowing that there's truth to them. This time around Junko had been a lot more unpredictable in her whims, if that Sex Ed class was any indication. Maybe she was having fun tormenting her older sister with things that weren't part of the plan?

"Alright." She says with a slight sigh. I take this as my queue that it's safe to look back, and I turn to her. She's wearing a black bikini with red ribbon bows placed between her cleavage and on her right hip. It looks… really, really nice. "You know, it's not like I was actually changing or anything. You didn't need to turn away."

"Well yeah, but… it's still embarrassing to watch someone undress like that!" I say, scratching the back of my head.

She allows a small smile to work her way on to her face again. "Innocent as ever Makoto… I'm happy that much about you hasn't changed."

"That…" I start talking, but I cut myself when I notice Chihiro not moving from his spot behind the partition. "What's the matter Chihiro?"

He looks over to me with a nervous look on his face. "I really, really don't like this! Can't we just talk in here?"

Mukuro sighs. "I would say yes, but I can already tell Junko is going to ask for details about her swimsuit picks." I shoot her a dubious look, and she scowls in annoyance. "She may be the Ultimate Despair, but that doesn't mean that she's any less obsessed with fashion and style. I won't be able to come up with a convincing lie about it, so just come out already."

"B-But-!" He protests. He looks to me for support.

"Oh come on Chihiro, it can't be that bad!" I encourage, smiling at him. "I'm sure it'll look fine on you!"

He only shakes his head at me. "T-That's not the issue…!" After a few minutes of silence, he finally sighs and steps out from his hiding spot. His swimsuit… is a lot more daring than expected.

He's wearing a light green two piece suit. The bottom looks more like a really short skirt with ruffles, and is coupled with a bikini top that also has ruffles that creates the illusion that he has a bust…. You'd never be able to tell he's a boy looking at him right now.

I stare at him in silence for a few minutes before speaking. "I guess Junko really does know what she's doing…"

He buries his face in his hands. "This isn't helping with what I have to do at all!"

Mukuro frowns. "Then I assume your secret is your gender?" He nods, and she shoots him a sympathetic look. "I had guessed as much. I'm really sorry this is happening so forcibly…"

He looks at her for a second, but then shakes his head. "…N-No, I had guessed as much already. I've been sort of… rehearsing, for when I tell everyone."

She raises an eyebrow at me. "You told him?"

"Ah, well…" I look off to the side. "I… sorta accidentally let it slip that I knew he was a boy. So after that, I had to explain myself and, well, I told him that motive because I knew it was coming down the pipes. I figured it would be best if he had a little forewarning…"

"So Chihiro's is the same as last time…" She muses to herself. "Am I correct in saying that yours is the same as well?"

My cheeks immediately flush. "Ah, that…" I quickly glance out the bath house's door, looking for any signs of Byakuya. "I really don't feel comfortable discussing it out here."

Both Chihiro and Mukuro shoot me a look of confusion, but quickly comply with my request. We each move to grab the stuff we need to bathe, but I notice Chihiro stops short when he sees a wash basin with a crack in the wood.

"Woah…" I say, eyeing up the damage. "I wonder who did that… Ya think someone got pissed and threw it?"

He looks away from me to hide a blush. "A-Ah, that's… probably not too far off the mark." He quickly grabs another basin and everything else he needs before quickly walking into the bath.

I blink. _"That was strange."_ Deciding to ask him about it again later, I grab my things and walk into the bath, shuddering slightly as the warm air hits my skin.

Putting our conversation on pause, we all take a few minutes to wash off with the showers. I look over in confusion when I see Mukuro washing her blonde hair. "Hold on, I thought that was a wig!"

She shakes her head. "Nope. For the past year and a half I've been growing it out to match Junko's… It's not like I wanted to of course, since long hair isn't practical for someone like me, but she insisted a wig wouldn't be good enough." She sighs, thumbing the blonde locks between her fingers. "…I hate it so much. I'm not me anymore… I haven't been in such a long time."

I look over to the pseudo-blonde with a frown on my face. "You're you right now, aren't you?"

She shakes her head. "…The me I am now isn't someone I know. Junko always tells me, "Sis, you're the perfect soldier, but you're pretty much a disappointment in everything else!"… and she's right. The only thing I could do with confidence was kill. But ever since I left Fenrir and joined her in hopes that she'd trust me, I've more or less lost my sense of self."

"But how?" Chihiro asks, looking over at the stoic girl. "Didn't you kill people during The Tragedy?"

"No." She says, staring down at her right hand. "Ever since I abandoned my faction to re-unite with Junko, I haven't killed a single person. When I first came to Hope's Peak, I was under strict orders from her not to kill anyone. But…" She pauses, biting her lip. "When I got to know you all… when you all came to me not for my abilities, but because you wanted to talk to _me_, I lost my ability to detach myself like I had in the battlefield. I broke! Suddenly I began to question orders, the one thing a soldier should never do…!"

She puts a hand over where her tattoo would be, glaring down at it. "I began to wonder what the things she wanted done had to do with you all! And when she launched her plan to start the Tragedy… she ordered me out on the field. She wanted me to become the killing machine I was in Fenrir… and I went. And I fought. I tortured, I attacked, I lead others to despair… but I never killed anyone during it. Something inside me had changed, and… I couldn't just kill anymore. I needed a _reason_."

Chihiro and I stare at her in stunned silence for a few moments before she continues again. "A soldier… doesn't need a reason. They follow orders. But whenever she told me to kill someone "just because" I couldn't! And so… she told me that she forgave me. Forgave me for being a disappointment of an older sister, who couldn't even serve her purpose correctly anymore… which is part of the reason I'm in here with you all now. She had a show to run… and I was only getting in the way of what she was doing."

"Y-You just accepted this…?" Chihiro asks, frowning at the girl.

"Of course." She replies immediately. "All I ever wanted was for her to think of me as something more than a disappointment, for her to truly be my sister… it wasn't difficult for me to agree. Just like with this "killing game" of hers… I never wanted it, but I went through with it anyway because she wanted to… experience the despair of watching all her dear friends kill each other. She was basically my world until I came here."

She shakes her head suddenly. "There really isn't a point to me talking about this though. I've already resolved myself to help you all escape to send her into the biggest fit of despair she's ever faced… I apologize for rambling." She says, with a slightly sheepish look.

I look over to Chihiro, who looks like he's about to burst into a fit of tears. "Chihiro…?"

Without warning, he pulls her into a quick hug. Her eyes go wide in surprise. "I-I know this isn't much of a consolation but… I'm sorry. I had automatically assumed you were in on this because you wanted to be… but you did it all for your sister. What's worse… you… felt bad about doing it. I-I hadn't ever considered…" Tears start to freely fall down his cheeks. "I hadn't ever considered that you actually were our friend! I'm so, so sorry!"

His words seem to shock her to her core, but she recovers after a moment with a small smile on her face. "Only you… would say sorry for something like that. I'm the one that betrayed you all, remember?"

He only shakes his head. "I-I know you did but… not everything is black and white. I can't say you were right for what you did, but… you aren't the villain either. I-It was completely wrong of me to assume that you and Junko were the same."

Not knowing what else to do, she awkwardly pats him on the back. "Let's just forget about it, alright? We have more important things to worry about right now." He nods at her, and she shows him a small smile once more.

She stands and makes her way over to the bath, with me and a now calm Chihiro in tow. Once we're all settled in the water, she starts talking again. "So, Makoto, what exactly was in your envelope? From what you said it's clear it's not the same as last time."

I sigh dejectedly at the fact that that was the first thing she brought up. I quickly glance back to the door and lean in to my two companions.

"I-It said… 'Makoto has the hots for Byakuya.'" I quickly down to hide the slight blush on my face. Mukuro taps my shoulder and I look up to see a confused expression on her face.

"Do you really?" She asks incredulously. Not wanting to answer, I look off to the side. "You do…?! How on earth did Junko find that out Makoto? There's no way it was something subtle!"

My face feels so hot that I might as well be on fire. "There's… only one thing that I can think of. But it definitely wasn't my fault! Byakuya sorta hugged me in the hall the day after Sayaka died… and I freaked out. I didn't think anyone saw, but it seems like she might have…"

She rubs her temples in frustration for a few moments before speaking again. "Makoto… you both should have known better. Now look at the bind you're in!"

"Ah well…" Chihiro starts, biting his cheek a little. "It's not really a bind. Makoto understands his feelings towards Byakuya, so… what's the issue in telling him? You may not have gotten the whole story, but Byakuya is the one who pointed out Makoto's attraction to him. I'm pretty certain that he likes Makoto as well from what I've seen." She raises an eyebrow at his words.

"So you're saying that Byakuya most likely returns his feelings?" He nods and she turns to me. "How is that an issue then? You don't have to worry about rejection."

"That's not the issue I'm having guys!" I say with a frown. "I… I'm nervous. I didn't think I'd have to tell him so soon you know? I don't know what I'm gonna say!"

Mukuro sighs, ignoring my words. "At least we know your issue is easily resolved… I would say just tell him before Monokuma gets the chance to. There's not much to be done aside from that you know."

I clutch my head. "I know I have to tell him before U-pu-Pooh Bear does, but I… dunno how I should go about it!"

"I-I think you're overthinking this Makoto." Chihiro says with a frown. "Just call him to your room and tell him what you're feeling at that moment. If you worry about it too much you're going to freeze up… at least, that's what would happen to me if I had to confess like that."

I nod slightly. "You're… not wrong." I frown. "I guess I'm just going to have to do it… sorta like ripping a band-aid off."

Mukuro nods at me, allowing the smallest of smiles. "I'm certain that you'll be fine." Chihiro is beaming at me as well, and offers an excited nod as affirmation.

"Okay." I say, stretching out my arms. "Next… this is just me asking out of curiosity, but what's your 'secret' Mukuro?"

She shrugs. "Just something about Junko sleeping with her manager to get into modeling. Nothing awful."

Chihiro and I stare at her in shock. "Nothing awful!?" He says, cheeks flushed. "T-That's… really embarrassing!"

"Not for me." She says flatly. "It's not like I actually did it… it's just something Junko came up with that would sound convincing. I'll just act a little flustered and make up an excuse for it."

"I… guess that makes sense." I say after a moment of thought. "Still, I wonder how Taka is going to react to that kind of thing…"

She suddenly tenses up. "What?"

I flinch, immediately regretting my lack of a filter. Chihiro doesn't seem to catch on however. "Taka? I'd assume he'd probably scold her for her morals or something… why?"

With a stormy look on her face, she abruptly stands. "I need to go." Without waiting for either of us to say anything, she gets out of the bath and hurries into the locker area, leaving Chihiro and I in stunned silence.

"Did… did I say something wrong?" Chihiro says, looking at the door.

I shake my head. "No… it was my bad for bringing it up in the first place. If I'm guessing correctly, she's had feelings for him since before we all lost our memories. She sort of let it slip when we first talked about the situation we're in…" I rub my forehead with an irritated sigh. "I really shouldn't have said anything! Now she's all worked up over how he's gonna react!"

He pats my shoulder a little. "I-I wouldn't feel too bad Makoto. She's got to be a tough girl… being a soldier and all. I'm sure she'll be fine if she has some time to cool down."

I nod slightly, hoping my small friend is right in his thinking. "So… we didn't really talk about this, but I think we need to come up with a plan. I think the more people whose secrets we can get to share before the deadline, the better."

"You have a point…" He says with a thoughtful expression on his face. "But who are we going to get to talk? A-And more importantly, how? Everyone seemed to be pretty reluctant to talk earlier…"

I screw my face in thought. "Well… I figure the best way to get someone to tell us their secret… is to tell them ours."

"W-What!?" He yells in surprise. "B-But Makoto…"

"I know." I say, looking him dead in the eye. "But I was thinking… wouldn't it be better for _us_ to tell them our secrets, rather than having Monokuma tell them against our will? Plus, if we spill our guts first, they'd feel more inclined to listen to us and tell us their secret too."

He bites his lip. "I'm… not sure if I can Makoto. I don't think I'm strong enough to handle it."

"No, that's wrong!" I say suddenly, making him jump. "Chihiro, you've gotta be one of the bravest people I know. Most people wouldn't be able to handle all of the stuff I've told you, all the stuff you've gone through… you're definitely a strong person. I have complete faith in you Chihiro."

He looks at me with wide eyes, my words having struck a chord with him. After several beats of silence, he finally nods.

"If… If you're there with me when I do it… I think I'll be okay." He says, picking at the ruffles on his bikini. "We'll do it together, right?"

I smile at my friend, happy with his courageous proclamation. "Of course! I'll be with you the entire time, for every single person we tell."

"Seems like I've missed something."

I whip my head around to see Byakuya staring down at us, fully clothed. "O-Oh, hey Byakuya! Why aren't you in a swimsuit?"

He simply raises an eyebrow at me. "I didn't think you people were actually serious about that." He glances over to Chihiro. "Why… are you in a bikini?"

He looks down with a flush on his cheeks. I turn to Byakuya with a sigh. "Long story. Apparently he's still a girl until Junko outs him tomorrow."

He runs a hand through his hair in frustration. "I had guessed the psycho wench was involved somehow. I'm questioning why he just didn't wear it."

I scratch my cheek. "Call it… peer pressure?" I say with a laugh. "I mean, it looks nice on him anyway, so there's no harm."

"But he's male. He should be wearing swim trunks if he wants to be viewed in such a way." He crosses his arms and huffs slightly. "It's contradictory to what he's trying to accomplish."

"I don't know about you Byakuya…" I say with a raised eyebrow. "But even knowing he's a guy, can you _really _look at his chest comfortably? I don't think I could without feeling like a pervert."

Chihiro looks ready to protest, but he stops himself short when Byakuya nods with a sigh. "I suppose you have a point."

He frowns at both of us. "H-Hey! How would you guys be perverts? My chest is the same as both of yours!"

Ignoring him, Byakuya continues. "Anyway, I have something I'd like to discuss with Makoto… Please make yourself scarce."

Chihiro looks ready to protest, but he suddenly nods and complies. I look toward him in confusion as he gets out of the bath. Once he's behind Byakuya, he turns back and mouths something with a smile, giving me a thumbs up.

"_Good luck Makoto!"_

He then speeds away, leaving me staring his way in confusion. It takes me a few minutes to process what he meant, and my heart immediately stops.

"_H-He can't mean for me to do that now! That's…" _I stop my internal panic attack when I see Byakuya giving me a pointed look.

"O-Oh, uhm… what is it that you wanted to talk about?" I ask, standing from my spot in the tub.

He sighs slightly, looking tired all of a sudden. "When you were with them… did you happen to divulge who the killer was last time?"

"No." I say with a frown. "I don't think it's necessary. I don't want him avoiding him because of something they don't even remember…"

"Good." He says, removing his glasses once they fogged up. "I would have hated for any more unnecessary complications like last time… This is one of the few instances where blissful ignorance is able to be overlooked."

I bite my cheek. "Is, ah… that all?"

"It was the most important thing I had to say, yes. I assume you've already talked a plan of action out with Chihiro?" He asks with a raised eyebrow. I nod. "Good. If you're together then you'll both be safe. I'd hate for you to have gone and done something as foolish as to confront someone alone just to keep him safe."

I'm about to disagree, but I internally groan when I remember that's something I'd probably do. "No, that wasn't the plan. He and I were going to go around and talk to people together."

"Very well." He says, turning away. "I'm going to go back to my room for now, so if you-" I quickly reach out and grab his wrist.

"Ah, Byakuya…!" He looks back with a raised eyebrow. "I, ah... have something I need to talk to you about too."

He turns fully to me. "Well? What is it? I'd like to leave here so that I can see again."

I take a deep breath in an attempt to keep my heart from popping out of my chest. "Alright. I, uhm… don't really know how to say this." I can feel a blush rising all the way to the tips of my ears. "You remember how you told me… that I was attracted to you?"

He nods. "Yes. What of it?"

I bite my lip. _"Calm down Makoto, you can do this. Just tell him! Blurt it out, don't worry, don't think! Just say it." _I scratch the back of my head.

"You… you really might have been…" I take a deep breath, suddenly dizzy with panic. "You were sorta…"

"Spit it out." He says flatly. "I'd rather not be here all day."

"_This guy…!" _I think, starting to get irritated. Deciding I don't want to drag this out, I opt to just get it over with. "Youwerecompletelyright." I look away from him after I force out these words.

"Speak clearly." He demands, edge of irritation in his voice.

And then… I snap.

"I said, you were right!" I nearly yell, looking at him. "You were completely right! I didn't think I'd ever like a guy, but for whatever reason these stupid feelings developed for your arrogant ass!" I'm nearly seething at this point, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. "I wasn't ever planning on acting on it, but thanks to you hugging me in the hall like you had, fucking Junko figured it out and made _that_ my secret! I didn't want you to hear it from a stupid bear, so I had to suck it up and tell you anyway, alright!?"

His eyes widen slightly at my proclamation and I internally curse. Leave it to me to call him an arrogant ass during a confession. _"He's gonna be pissed, I just know it!"_ The next several moments feel like an eternity as he stays completely quiet, eyes closed in thought.

"You are… completely tactless." He says after a while.

…

"_Hah?"_

Not understanding why he said that, I try to question it. "What-"

He immediately cuts me off. "You heard me. You're tactless. You're a commoner who's completely oblivious to how things actually work in the world. You're too short. Your hair defies logic. You trust people way too easily. Your sunny disposition is enough to make me gag, and you piss me off to no end on a regular basis. You can't even…"

"_What the hell?!" _I scream internally. _"If he's gonna reject me, does he have to do it by pointing out every single thing he doesn't like about me!?" _But no matter how much I internally plead for it to be over, he just. Keeps. Going.

"- probably haven't read anything that isn't a comic book. You're a virgin. You probably make straight B's at best. You can't be left alone for a single second, because if you are you'll run off and do something stupid and self-sacrificial." He takes a step closer to me.

"But regardless of all those things…" Another step.

"You still managed to catch my attention." And another.

Soon he's standing right in front of me, and my brain is having trouble keeping up with what's going on. "You probably weren't aware of this…" He leans down until his face is right in front of mine. "But you've been mine since the day I became interested in you."

He quickly straightens himself and walks over to the bench, grabbing a towel. "Here." He says flatly. "Dry yourself off." I don't really understand what's going on anymore, so I just nod and do what he asked.

My face is completely flushed as I look up at him after having dried off. "Alright… uhm, why exactly did you have me do that?"

He walks back over to me and pulls my body to his. "So I could do…this." He leans down until our faces are a literal inch apart, before he rushes in and kisses me.

But calling it just a kiss would be an understatement. He's a lot gentler than I would have expected… but it still manages to take my breath away. After a second of just normal kissing, he bites my bottom lip. I yelp, and he takes the opportunity to stick his tongue into my mouth.

"Mmpf…!" Panicked, because I really haven't ever been kissed like this before, I sort of mimic what he's doing and let him take the lead. He takes free reign of my mouth, practically mapping it out with his tongue. I'm pretty sure the noises I'm making are embarrassing, but I can't really hear anything over the sound of my heart pounding at the moment.

I'm pretty sure we've made out for a good five minutes before he breaks off the kiss, looking down at me with a smirk. "Hm. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you'd have done that before."

I blush to the tips of my ears and scowl at him. _"Asshole can't give a compliment without an insult tied in, can he?"_ I take a deep breath to try and steady my breathing. "Whatever…"

"Tell me, how did you know to breathe out of your nose? Most people don't get that right off the bat. Don't tell me you did research on it." His smirk widens ever so slightly, and it sort of feels like he's teasing me.

"I just… did what I thought was right? I dunno!" I huff slightly, finally calming down. "So… does that mean we're… dating?" I look up at him with an uncertain frown, and his smirk softens into the smallest of smiles.

"I suppose we are." He says, turning away slightly. Before I know it his face shifts back into a neutral expression. "I think we've been in here long enough. I'm going to go back to my room… I want you to drop by later after you and Chihiro are finished trying to save the rest of those idiots from themselves." Without waiting for me to reply, he promptly turns and walks away.

I sigh and quickly follow suit, wondering why I have to go to his room. When I reach the locker area he's already gone, but there's definitely someone else there.

"Chihiro?" I ask, looking over to the boy sitting calmly on the bench. "I thought you had left…?"

"O-Oh!" He says, glancing nervously off to the side. "Well I had at first, but I got concerned after a while and decided to come back after I changed… a-and ah… yeah."

I raise an eyebrow at him, but don't press the issue further. "Alright then? I'm just gonna change real quick and then we can go, alright?" He nods slightly and turns away, and I quickly strip down. It's just as I'm pulling up my pants that he decides to speak up.

"S-So uhm… Did you really look up how to make out…?"

I promptly trip, and make a mental note to be more careful of Chihiro from now on.

-CHAPTER 10: INTERMISSION-

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yup. I had to cut it in half. It was wayyyyy too long! I'll post the other half sometime after I update my other story, just to keep up my pattern. xp Not really much to say this time, so I'll just say bye for now!**


	12. Chapter 10-2: Mystery Croquettes!

Chapter 10-2: Mystery Croquettes

Makoto's P.o.V:

"I'm sorry! So, so sorry!"

I sigh, holding the ice pack to my head as Chihiro fusses over me. "It's not that big of a deal Chihiro!" I say, rolling my eyes. "It's just a little lump! A teeny tiny one!"

"B-But you tripped because of my comment!" He says with tears in his eyes. "I should have had better timing… or better yet, not said anything at all!"

I blush slightly, remembering his question. "N-No, you can't help but be curious about what you overheard… I was just a little clumsy is all."

Currently Chihiro and I are sitting in the dining hall. When I tripped I ended up smacking my forehead on the bench, and Chihiro had immediately panicked and pulled me here so that I could ice my head. It didn't even hurt that badly to be honest, but he insisted that I do it.

He finally relents a little, sitting down across from me. "W-Well, I still feel bad… does it hurt still?"

I shake my head with a laugh. "Dude, no. It didn't even hurt in the first place." I take the ice off my head and move my hair so that my forehead is visible. "How's the damage?"

He peers at my forehead, before nodding. "You can't see it, but I can't be sure that'll be true for long… at least your hair covers it up." I let my hair fall back into place. "So… do you think you can answer my question from earlier?"

I laugh, but blush anyway. "So me nearly dying doesn't warrant a pass?" He huffs at me, with a frown that clearly says no. "…To answer your question, I really didn't. How would I have anyway? There aren't any computers here, so google is kinda out of the question!"

He bites his cheek, knowing I'm being vague on purpose. "I guess that makes sense…" It's clear by the look on his face that he wants to say something else, but he simply shakes his head and changes the subject.

"So… if we're going to do this… w-who do you think we should talk to first?" He asks, hugging himself slightly. "I… can we please not do Mondo first at least? I don't think I could handle him right off the bat."

I nod, silently noting the irony in his words. "Sure thing… If I'm being honest though, I haven't really thought much on who we should talk with first." I say, scratching the back of my head. "If I had to pick a good starter, I think either Leon or Taka would be the best."

"I understand Taka, because he wanted us all to talk in the first place…" He says, tilting his head. "But why Leon?"

"He said that his secret wasn't anything to kill over, remember?" I shoot him a worried frown. "…I think it's up to you to pick who you want to talk with first. I'm okay with telling whoever you pick, alright? No worries."

He nods, biting his lip partially out of thought, but out of nervousness as well. I can't possibly imagine how he feels doing this, but I've already resolved myself to help him through it. I smile reassuringly as he nervously glances up at me, seemingly having come to a conclusion.

"I-I think… I'd like to speak with Taka first." He nods to himself slightly before looking up at me with anxious eyes. "When should we…?"

I smile at him. "No better time than the present!" I stand and stretch, letting out a content sigh as my back pops. Chihiro is looking up at me with something akin to horror on his face. "What? You know it'll be better to do it right off the bat! If I let you sit here and think you're not going to be anywhere near as comfortable with it as you are now… which isn't even a lot in the first place!"

I walk over to him and offer him a hand, which he takes after a few moments. He stands up and straightens out his skirt before turning to me with a nod.

"L-Let's go."

* * *

><p>By the time we finish our short walk over to Taka's room, Chihiro is shaking like a leaf. I put a hand on his shoulder and smile at him, offering my silent support. He takes a deep breath to steady his nerves before lifting his arm and hitting the buzzer to his room. We're only waiting for a second before Taka opens his door.<p>

"I apologize for the delay! I was reading a novel and I lost track of time!" His response seems automatic, but he grins at us once he actually sees who it is. "Ah Makoto, Chihiro! What a pleasant surprise! Is there something that you needed?"

I bite my cheek slightly before speaking. "Well, yes. We were hoping to talk to you about some… things. Can we come in?"

"Of course!" He shouts, gesturing for us to come in. Chihiro and I share a look before we both enter, Chihiro flinching slightly as the door closes. Taka moves in front of us and quickly straightens out his books that he has placed on the table before turning to us. "Well? What is it that you wanted to discuss?"

"W-Well…" Chihiro starts, grabbing at his skirt. "Makoto and I really don't want someone to murder someone else for a secret s-so… we're going around to people's rooms to talk about them."

"I agree with what you're doing, however…" Taka says with a frown. "You saw how people were acting earlier! No one is willing to simply share something like that, even though it's causing a huge amount of animosity between us!"

"We know that." I say, scratching the back of my head. "But that's why we're telling people our secrets first… so that they're more willing to talk to us about theirs. And even if they don't tell us theirs… at least we were able to let ours out of our own accord, instead of having Monokuma out us."

"Y-Yeah!" Chihiro says, looking up at him. "So… would you be willing to listen to us Taka?"

He looks down at him, shocked. "That you would even need to ask… of course I would! I'm more ashamed by the fact that I had not reached this conclusion on my own!" He motions for us to come over to the table and sit, moving his books off of it. Once we're seated he nods to us as a signal to begin talking.

We sit in silence for a moment before I glance over to Chihiro, who looks about ready to cry. "Do you want me to go first…?" He quickly nods. I turn to Taka and take a deep breath. "Well… my secret… was that I had a crush on Byakuya."

His eyes widen, seemingly surprised. "Really!? I would have guessed that you were infatuated with the late Sayaka! Of course… her attempt at your life probably quelled any feelings you may have had for her." He nods to himself at this for a moment, before looking up at me with a grin. "Worry not Makoto! As they say… It is okay to be gay!"

I fight the urge to smack my forehead at his words. _"Of all the things to say!" _I look over to see Chihiro's shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter, and my annoyance vanishes instantly. _"At least it sorta helped him calm down…"_

Taka frowns over at Chihiro. "Hey! This is no laughing matter! Homosexuality is not a joke!"

Chihiro quickly composes himself. "I-I'm sorry… but the way you worded it… I couldn't help but laugh!"

Taka frowns. "The way I worded it… I thought everyone said that!"

I shake my head. "Not… really. I don't think I've ever actually heard someone use that phrase seriously until now."

He crosses his arms. "Well regardless of how others meant it, I meant it seriously! I have no issues with your sexual orientation at all!"

I snort. "Well at least that makes one of us. I didn't come to terms with it until a little while ago, I always thought I was straight! I basically went through an identity crisis over it."

He nods. "I can see how it would be shocking! But, at least you accept it now, correct?" I nod. "Then there is nothing to worry over! I'm certain everyone else will be fine with it!" He turns to Chihiro. "Now then… what is it that Monokuma had threatened you with Chihiro?"

All traces of his earlier laughter gone, he looks down to avoid Taka's gaze. "I'll say it, b-but… please just don't freak out."

"Oh come now Chihiro! I don't think a girl like you could possibly have a secret that terrible!" This phrase only makes tears come to his eyes, but suddenly he lifts his head and looks Taka dead in the eye.

"B-But that's just it! I'm… not a girl." As he says this, his voice wavers slightly… but there's a confidence there I hadn't seen in him before.

Taka just laughs. "Come now Chihiro, now isn't the time to be making silly jokes like that!" His laughter dies off under Chihiro's steady but teary gaze. "It's… just a joke, correct? There's no way that you're a boy… right?"

Chihiro simply shakes his head. "I-I… I'm not joking Taka. I'm really a boy…" He then proceeds to explain himself, with Taka merely listening on in a stunned silence. He stutters often, and he has to pause a few times to collect himself, but he's doing his best to stay strong as he reveals something that he's kept to himself for so long.

"A-And that's… just it." He finishes with a shaky breath. "I-I realize that it's very strange but… it's the truth. I-I'm sorry for keeping it from you all for so long, but… I haven't told anyone that in a very long time." A few tears slip down his cheeks as Taka continues to stare at him, uncharacteristically quiet.

After a very tense bit of silence, Taka manages to find his words. "If… everything you just said is true, then it really is quite shocking. Near impossible to believe in fact! But…" He crosses his arms. "There is no reason for you to lie to me! That's why I'll believe you! But there is one issue we need to address!"

He looks up at him in confusion. "What-"

"Do I continue to allow you to wear girl's clothing, or not!?"

…

…_What?_

"What the hell Taka?!" I near screech. "You find out his biggest secret, and _that's_ what you decide to say!?"

"It is an important issue Makoto!" He yells back, standing. "There isn't anything about this in the rule book! I don't know if he's in or out of dress code! Such a grey area…" He clutches at his head. "How could such a grey area exist in the rule book!?"

Chihiro and I simply watch on as he begins to rant about the importance of rules and how it's an abomination that something as important as this isn't made clear in it. I look over to him and shrug. "That… could have been worse."

"Y-Yeah, but…" He starts, biting his lip. "Is he going to be alright? I know I should be glad he's flipping his lid over this instead of me being a guy and all… but I can't help but feel bad about it."

I sigh and look up at Taka. "Technically speaking what he's wearing is appropriate for school you know. He's probably the most appropriately dressed out of all of us aside from you!"

This gets him to stop mid-rant as he scratches his chin slightly. "I… suppose that's true. And I've already given you a pass on your fashionable hoodie for safety reasons, so I can hardly get on to everyone else for being poorly dressed…" He nods to himself. "Very well! You may continue as you are Chihiro!"

"T-Thank you…?" He says, fidgeting slightly. "I-Is that all that really bothers you though?"

"Well… yes." He pauses to think for a moment. "You are still the same person we've all come to know you as. As surprising as the fact that you're a boy is, it doesn't change who you are… I think. Is there anything else that you've been dishonest about?"

He quickly shakes his head. "No! I wouldn't… this was the only thing I've lied to anyone about."

Taka nods after shooting Chihiro an appraising look. "Then there is nothing to worry about! The fact that you are a male does not make you any less of a person, regardless of your reasoning to hide it!"

I stare at the perfect completely stunned. _"I guess he can drop a pearl of wisdom every now and then too…"_

Chihiro stands and straightens out his skirt, smiling up at Taka. "Thank you so much… for not hating me."

Taka smiles down at him, and pats him on the shoulder. "We're… friends correct? Friends do not start hating each other over something like this." He clears his throat. "Now, since you've told me your secrets… it is only fair for me to say my own as well."

Chihiro and I look at him expectantly, and after a while he finds his voice. "I… My grandfather… he was involved in a political scandal. Because of this, he left my family with a heavy debt to repay after his death. My parents tried their hardest to pay it off and support us in the process… but it was extremely difficult. For a while, my mother was unemployed… but then she had suddenly gotten a very well-paying job. One that paid too well."

He takes a shaky breath in. "She… had started to sell herself. I didn't find out about it because I was away at school, but… I wish I had been there to stop her when she had first had the idea!"

"W-Wait…" I say, taking this new information in. "Couldn't your father have stopped her…?"

He shakes his head with a grimace. "No. She didn't tell him either… I only found out because… I had…"

Chihiro's eyes widen. "Y-You mean you caught her?" He nods solemnly. "Oh Taka, I'm so sorry…"

"I do not need sympathy." He says calmly. "I… got her to stop. That's what matters. I made her promise to me that she wouldn't any more, to value herself more… She swore to me that she would stop, because she loved my father and I more than anything in the world…"

"That's… pretty heavy." I say, frowning at him. "And you were willing just to tell everyone that…?"

"Of course!" He yells, usual demeanor coming back slightly. "I would to anything so that someone doesn't die a needless death! This is not worth another person's life!"

I grin, standing up as well. "Glad to see that we're on the same page!" I turn to Chihiro. "I think we should get going… we have several more people to talk with after all."

"Allow me to accompany you then!" Taka says, nodding towards me. "There's strength in numbers after all!"

I nod. "I don't see anything wrong with it. But…" I scratch my head. "Who do we go and talk with next? I can already say for certain that Celes and Hiro probably won't be willing to talk. Celes is… Celes, and Hiro is just paranoid."

"Very well…" He says cocking his head to the side. "If I may make a suggestion, I think we should go around the school and see if there's anyone else in a group right now. It may take a while, but I think it'll be effective!"

"We can just check that now." Chihiro says, pulling out his e-Handbook. He quickly goes to the map and flips through the three areas we have access to: The first floor, the second floor, and the dorm area. "It looks like… Leon, Hina, and Sakura are all in the pool area."

Taka looks at Chihiro with a stunned expression. "You could determine their location with you e-Handbook!? What sorcery is this!?"

"I-It's not sorcery!" Chihiro says with a laugh. "The map displays the locations of everyone in the school… or at least their handbooks. I only said they were in the pool because Hina and Sakura's handbooks are in the girl's locker room, and Leon's is in the guy's."

"Even I knew that Taka…" I say with a huff. "Do you even use it?"

He fidgets slightly. "Well… no. It's very strange to touch the screen to navigate through it. I don't really… use things like this that often. I'm used to simply using buttons to navigate."

I snort. "Don't tell me… do you have a flip phone?"

"Yes!" He grins. "It's so much simpler to use than these things… a lot cleaner as well! I have to constantly wipe the screen on this thing!"

I shake my head, quickly moving the topic forward. "Well, now you know… we should get going though, we don't know how long they're gonna stay there!"

Receiving a few nods of affirmation, we all make our way to the pool. The way there is filled with light conversation, which is much better on the nerves than silence. Once we get to the locker rooms however, we come upon an issue.

"Is Chihiro… just supposed to enter through the guy's side?" Taka asks, clearly stumped. "Wouldn't that give him away right off the bat?"

"Well… yeah." I say with a nod. "But he's gonna tell them anyway, so it'll be a good segway into the topic."

"P-Plus…" Chihiro says, glancing up at the Gatling gun mounted to the ceiling. "I don't really have much of a choice in the matter. L-Let's just go…"

We each scan our individual IDs and enter the guy's locker room, before quickly heading out to the pool. Leon is the first to see us and waves.

"Yo, guys!" He looks confused when he sees Chihiro who was following behind me. "…and Chihiro?"

Sakura looks up from where she was meditating on the side of the pool. "Hm? Chihiro… how did you get in through the men's side? The gun should have gone off…"

Hina continues to obliviously swim laps.

"W-Well… about that." He says, looking off to the side.

* * *

><p>The reactions Chihiro had gotten from them were… mixed. Leon actually accepted it pretty quickly for whatever reason, but I didn't bother to question a good thing. Sakura looks surprised for a moment before simply saying that it was alright. Hina… well, Hina didn't believe it until she forcefully groped Chihiro's chest.<p>

And I mean _forcefully_.

"D-Do you believe me now!?" Chihiro says, covering his chest with his arms. An embarrassed blush is evident on his cheeks.

"Hina… I think you may have gone a little overboard." Sakura chides. "Why couldn't you just believe his words? He had no reason to lie to us."

"I sorta get where she's coming from though." Leon says, scratching the back of his head. "I mean, he's way too cute… it was sorta hard to believe that he's really a guy."

"See see? Leon gets it!" Hina says, puffing out her cheeks. "But… I believe you Chihiro. Even flatties have something to grab on to…"

"My question is…" Sakura starts, standing from her spot on the floor. "What was your intention in telling us this?"

"Isn't it obvious!?" Taka yells, pumping his fist into the air. "We are currently sharing our secrets to get rid of any doubts between us! The only way we can be certain that no one will die is if we get everything out in the open!"

Leon snorts. "Dude, you're still going on about that? There's no way certain people here are gonna squeal."

"We get that." I say, shooting him a pointed look. "But the idea here is that if we can at least get some people to talk, then the chances of someone dying go down by a lot."

He grimaces. "…Guess ya got a point there…"

"I… agree with what you are saying Makoto." Sakura ventures, looking off to the side. "If we are truly to be united against the mastermind, we cannot allow ourselves to separate over something such as this."

Hina huffs slightly. "Well… even though it's embarrassing as heck, I don't really mind if it means we can all trust each other a little more…"

"Very well then!" Taka cheers with a grin. "Let's not waste any time, Makoto and I shall start things off!"

The responses to Taka's secret are all varying degrees of sadness. Leon especially looked put-out by his news for a reason I don't really get. The responses to mine weren't as sad, but more… surprising? Sakura and Leon seemed surprised at first, but quickly accepted it. Hina's only comment was a quick "I ship it.", to which I blushed to the tips of my ears and Leon and Chihiro fell into a fit of giggles over.

Leon takes a deep breath. "Man, you sure know how to kill a serious mood Hina."

"But I was serious!" She pouts. "I can really see them working well-"

"Hina, no." I start. "Please, just stop."

Sakura lets out a huff of amusement at her antics. "Getting back on track now… I think it's time for us to share our secrets at this point. I shall go first." She stays quiet for a few moments before finding her words. "I… am no longer a virgin."

…

The next several moments are filled with a shocked silence from all parties in the room. Hina is the first to talk.

"No. Way. You already cashed in your v-card Sakura!? What the hell! Why didn't you ever tell me!?"

"It… hadn't seemed like it was important." She says, looking off to the side with a sheepish look on her face. Chihiro, Leon, and Taka are openly gaping at her in shock, and I'm pretty sure I'm no better.

"It _is_ important Sakura! This is what you're supposed to tell your besties!" She puffs out her cheeks. "I'm gonna be getting the details out of you later! That's a promise!"

Taka suddenly recovers, crossing his arms. "Hold it! Those actions aren't appropriate for someone your age! What possessed you t-" I quickly put a hand over his mouth.

"Not what's important here Taka!" I smile over at Sakura. "You… know how he is. Don't mind him."

She smiles at me. "I appreciate your concern Makoto, but he's right. I would usually agree… but there are certain circumstances that led me to do what I did. I will not go into further detail here."

I nod, already knowing what she's talking about. _"Kenshiro huh?" _I think solemnly. _"I sort of understand now. I had forgotten about that…"_

Hina sighs, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Guess it's my turn now…. One time, I ate four twelve-count boxes of donuts… in one sitting."

Leon chokes on his spit a little. "Isn't that like… forty-eight donuts?!"

"H-How did you not throw up…?" Chihiro asks, amazed.

"I-It was for a contest! The person who ate the most would get free donuts for life!" She looks embarrassed, but then glares at us. "I… I had to do it! I pretty much passed out after the fact and woke up with frosting and sprinkles in places I don't wanna say, but it was completely worth it! Now whenever I go into a Dunkin Donuts I just flash a card that I have and they hook me up!"

"_That's… pretty gross."_ I think with a sigh. _"But that's just Hina. Ultimate Donut Nut on patrol."_

"I just wonder how you managed to eat so much but still maintained that hot bod of yours." Leon snorts. "It's not natural."

Hina blushes to the tips of her ears. "You think I'm hot…?"

"_That's not the part you should focus on!"_ I think, rubbing my temples slightly.

He just laughs. "Well yeah? I'm pretty sure even Makoto and his gay ass thinks you're hot."

I flip him the bird. "Shut up. I still like girls, but I like Byakuya too." He glares at me and I shrug, turning to Hina. "He's right though, you are hot."

She shuffles her feet with a sheepish grin on her face. "Well… thanks guys."

"Now that that's out of the way…" Taka says, looking over to Leon. "What exactly is _your_ secret?"

"I gotta say it…?" Everyone nods at once. "Fuck, fine… So, being as good in sports as I am, you imagine that I get a lot of tail right?" No one answers, but Chihiro blushes to the tips of his ears and Taka looks ready to set off on a full-blown rant about lewd behavior.

"Well… there was this one person. Smoking hot, tall, gorgeous eyes… and they offered to mess around. Being the gentleman I am," I let out a snort. "I had no right to refuse a request from such a fine piece of ass. We go to one of those fuck n fly motels, and she starts using her mouth in a way that should be illegal. Eventually I get her off of me, and I pull off her dress with the best intentions to return the favor… only…" He mumbles the next part, so lowly that no one could hear.

"What?" Taka asks, fuming. "Speak up!"

He groans, looking off to the side. "She was a dude…! And not a cute one where it wouldn't even matter like Chihiro, I'm talking broad shoulders and hung like a damn horse." Chihiro quickly moves behind me, face crimson. I bark out a laugh.

"And you called me gay!" I wipe a few tears from my eyes, and his face flushes.

"I didn't know, alright?! We definitely stopped after that, and I hightailed my ass outta there!"

Sakura shoots him an incredulous look. "I would think that you'd have noticed something like that… couldn't you see his… thing, through the dress?"

"I wasn't paying attention!" He says, trying to defend himself. "Look, I know it's bad, but I was only thinking about getting my dick wet at the time!"

"Y-You're… not helping your case at all." Chihiro manages, peeking from behind me.

He rubs his face in his hands with a groan. "…Fuck, I know! There's really no casual way to say, "Hey, I accidentally got a blowie from a guy!" I know I look like a flaming ass right now, but I'm serious when I say that I haven't actually tried to get into anyone's pants since!"

"Too scared to try again?" Hina asks in all innocence.

He growls. "Fuck no! It's just that… that sorta made me realize that I can't just be going around and sleeping with anyone that comes my way. I gotta get to know em a little bit first, ya know?"

"To make sure they aren't a male in disguise?" Sakura asks. His face flushes instantly.

"Whatever!" He yells, storming off. "You all are a bunch of assholes!"

Hina looks after him for a second before heading in the same direction. "I'm… gonna go talk to him. I think he might have taken that the wrong way…" Without waiting for any responses, she hurries after him, leaving us all in a stunned silence.

"I… had not meant any offence." Sakura says, looking crestfallen.

"W-We know that!" Chihiro says, looking up at the muscular girl. "I think it might have just been a really sore subject for him… that's probably why he acted like that. I-I'm sure he'll be fine!"

Sakura stays silent for a few moments before turning away. "I think I'm going to work out for a while… if you'll excuse me." She then makes her way into the girl's locker room without sparing us another glance.

"That… ended badly." Taka says, frowning at the doors.

I sigh, scratching the back of my head. "Yeah… I might have teased him too much… I think I'll have to apologize to him later."

Chihiro frowns at us. "At least we've made sure that they don't have a motive for murder. T-That's what we're trying to do right? Don't beat yourselves up."

But his words don't do much to lighten the mood. "I… suppose you are correct." Taka says after a few moments. He shakes his head a little and quickly shifts back into his usual demeanor. "Very well! Who's next on our agenda!?"

* * *

><p>Our next attempts aren't nearly as successful as our first few. Hiro had absolutely refused to come out of his room, sputting something about the mafia and organs. I already had a feeling about what his "secret" was, so I led Taka and Chihiro away without much of a fight. He won't do anything.<p>

Celes and Hifumi on the other hand were more than willing to listen to us. Upon learning about Chihiro, Hifumi started muttering something about traps that no one bothered to question, and Celes had simply commented about how Chihiro may want to take up poker. They both listened intently to our secrets… but that's all they did. Neither of them had even considered spilling theirs.

Toko… I had actually asked them not to go to Toko, for some pretty obvious reasons. I told them that she'd be more willing to listen to Byakuya than any of us… which of course wasn't a lie.

And so here we stand, waiting in front of the one door Chihiro had been putting off the longest.

Mondo's.

He looks even worse for wear than when we were standing in front of Taka's door. Telling people had gotten easier for him after that, but… there was no denying that this time was different from all the rest to him. So much hinged on Mondo's reaction to him that I wouldn't be surprised if he fainted on the spot from stress alone.

Taka, much to my surprise, was also pretty tense. "He's… the last one we need to speak with right? No one else?"

I nod, wondering what Taka is stressed about. "No. Mondo is the only one left. Should I…?" I ask, gesturing to the buzzer. Chihiro mutely gulps, but gives me a shaky nod regardless. "All right then…" I hit the buzzer, and a minute passes by in a tense silence before the door finally opens, revealing a groggy Mondo wearing nothing but a white tank top and boxers.

"Hey guys…" He starts, yawning into his hand. "What's up?" He glances to Chihiro and Taka, both of whom are visibly stiff. "What's wrong with you two?"

"Ah, brother!" Taka starts, albeit a little forced. "Do you mind if we speak to you? There are important matters that we must discuss."

Mondo doesn't bother to hide his confusion, but nods anyway. "Sure I guess." He gestures for us to enter his room. Once we're all in he closes the door and turns to us. "Alright, what's with your faces? You all look like someone just took a piss in your cheerios."

Taka seems to have hit a second wind, as he suddenly perks back up to his usual demeanor. "Brother, in order to insure that no one dies because someone else was trying to keep a secret, Chihiro, Makoto, and I have all been going around and sharing ours with everyone!" He stops for a moment and nods to himself. "Most people were willing to cooperate with us, aside from Hiro, Hifumi, and Celes! Toko as well, however Byakuya seems to have her in check. I-"

"Wait." Mondo says, cutting him off. "Is that why you're all here? To get me to talk?" He's got a dangerous look on his face, but it softens when Chihiro pipes up for the first time.

"I-I know it'll probably be hard for you Mondo." He says, frowning slightly. "It… was terrible for me. But I…" He looks up at Mondo, tears pooling in his eyes. "I… did it. I managed to tell everyone. A-And if someone like me can do it… I'm more than certain that you can at least tell us… your friends."

Mondo's expression shifts into a pained one. "…I… I don't think I can tell you guys just like that though! I mean… shit! Why can't you just wait for that fucking bear to out me tomorrow huh? At least then I won't have to say it my damn self!"

"But that's just it Mondo." I say, frowning up at him. "It's because we _don't_ want to hear it from Monokuma that we're doing this. We're all in this together you know… and we trust you. Whatever it is won't change how we look at you."

"The fuck…?" He questions with a grimace. "How the hell can you say that shit without knowing what it is, huh!? Anyone can fucking talk Like that Makoto… you can't say a damn thing like that without knowing what it is!"

"Except I can!" I yell, not backing down. "I can say that, and I did! You're our friend! You probably have a good reason for keeping it to yourself, I get that!" I sigh. "But… in the end… sometimes you have to show a little weakness. It's only by showing your weakest parts of yourself that you can actually get to know people better; to form a true bond. Showing a weakness doesn't mean you're weak."

He shakes his head. "What…? How does that-"

Chihiro of all people is the one who cuts him off. "I-It's true Mondo!" He yells, looking up at him with teary eyes. "What Makoto's saying makes sense… I-I never thought I'd ever tell anyone here about me. But this… this is more important! I-" He chokes back a sob. "I'm afraid. So, so afraid to tell you… but I know I have to. Because if I don't tell you, there won't be any meaning behind it! It won't make my weakness go away. I-If I'm the one to say it though, it… gives me control. It makes me strong."

"Chihiro…" He says, looking down at the small boy. Any traces of anger are gone from his face, leaving only fear and sadness. "I… get what you're sayin', alright? But… it's not the same. I don' think you get how bad it is. It's somethin' that effects my whole damn life."

"Brother…" Taka sighs. "Chihiro's secret is no laughing matter either. I had thought mine was bad, however… It's much more severe than that."

"…" Mondo stays quiet for a while, glaring down at the floor. Just as I think that he's going to refuse, he speaks up in a small voice. "…I get it. I'll… fess up." He plops down on the bed, still looking troubled.

"Would it help if we talked first?" I venture. He doesn't say anything, but he give us a small nod.

I look toward Taka, and he nods slightly. He tells Mondo about his mother whoring herself to support her family. He grimaces and offers an apology.

I go next, telling him about my… attraction to Byakuya. This stirs more of a reaction out of him, surprise blatant on his face. I explain the issues I had with it myself, and eventually he nods, saying "you like who you like I guess."

Finally, it's Chihiro's turn. He's visibly shaking, and I put an encouraging hand on his shoulder. He takes in a shaky breath, clutching his skirt, clearly trying to steady his nerves. We all wait in silence, Mondo looking at him with an unreadable expression on his face.

After a while, he manages to speak up. "I-I… I'm actually a boy Mondo."

There's a tense silence that follows his confession, as expected. Mondo's eyes go wide and he stares at the boy, speechless.

"You're… you're what?" He says, staring down at him. "That's… no way…"

Tears start to freely fall down his face. "I-Its true…" He breaks out into a full-blown sobbing fit. "I-I know I'm a terrible person for h-hiding it from you all, b-but it's true!"

He then proceeds to explain himself, sobbing the entire time. He tells Mondo all about the bullying he went through, his experiences with trying to change back, all of it. Mondo simply listens on in shocked silence, clinging to every word that Chihiro says.

Once he stops talking, Mondo finally finds his voice. "You get that… this is sorta fucking difficult to believe right?"

He nods solemnly, wiping at tears. "I-I do. But… it really is the truth."

Mondo starts shaking his head numbly. "This… this is a really shitty joke!" He suddenly yells, startling Chihiro. "There's no way you're a dude! No fucking way…!"

Chihiro bites his lip to keep it from trembling, before he suddenly starts as if something occurred to him. He quickly walks over to Mondo and grabs his hand, before quickly placing it on his chest. Mondo instantly tenses, before a look of realization crosses over his features.

"You… weren't just fucking with me? You're really… you're really a guy?"

Chihiro nods, and quickly steps away from him. "I…I understand if you don't want anything to do with me anymore. I-I lied to you all about such a huge thing! B-But…" His tears start up again. "I really don't want to lose you Mondo! I really, really don't! You're so important to me…"

Mondo suddenly stands and walks over to the sobbing boy. Chihiro looks up at him with something akin to fear on his face, before quickly looking away and trying to hold back more tears.

The air is so thick at this moment that I'm having trouble breathing. Now that it's happening… I have no idea how this is going to play out. I nervously turn my gaze to Taka, who's just as tense as I am, and then finally back to Mondo.

He just looks at Chihiro with a troubled look on his face… before he suddenly crouches down and pulls him into a tight hug. Chihiro's breath visibly hitches.

"There's no way in hell I'd hate you for something like this. No way in hell…" He says, voice cracking slightly, as if he's trying not to bust out into a fit of tears. "You're my bro, girl or not. You guys… you're all dumb as shit for getting involved with me. I'm not a good person; a pretty fucking bad one actually."

He pauses for a minute before he opens his mouth again. "I… my bro, my real, blood related bro… he died because of me." He keeps his hold on Chihiro as he starts talking. "He and I were racing the day he retired from the gang… and I had cut into the oncoming traffic trying to get ahead of him. But… I wasn't paying attention! I wasn't fucking paying enough attention to the road to see that there was a truck coming my way! But Daiya… he knocked me out of the way and got hit instead."

He takes a shaky breath in before he finds his voice again. "He… died right in my arms. He just smiled at me… and made me promise to keep the gang together. I couldn't do shit to help him…!" He grinds his teeth. "I didn't want to fucking let him down, so… I didn't say shit to everyone in the gang about how he died. People started calling me the "strongest"… but that's a damn lie! I couldn't even tell them that they were wrong, that I was fucking weak, because I was scared they'd break apart if they knew the truth!" His hold tightens slightly. "I couldn't let my brother down again…!"

Even though I heard this before… It's somehow better hearing it from him. Not because he was forced, but because he trusted us. It's comforting in a way.

Chihiro only stands there, his own tears stopping as he holds the shaking Mondo. Just as Mondo moves to pull away, Chihiro quickly puts his arms around him and stops him in his tracks.

"I'm… so sorry that happened Mondo." He says, hugging the gang leader. "I know it's not any consolation but… I-I think you tried your best. You kept your gang together after all, right?" He nods slightly, pained look on his face. "As long as you did that… I think you _are_ strong. I-It must have been really hard to keep that all to yourself for so long…" He pats his back slightly, small smile on his face. "You're not alone. You don't have to carry that kind of burden all alone you know… you have Taka, Makoto, and… and me." He finishes, squeezing him a little for good measure.

Mondo doesn't say anything at first, but puts his arms back around him. After a moment of just hugging, he finally lets out a dry laugh. "You really are dumb as shit…" A few tears streak down his face, but he's smiling. Not a grin, not a smirk, but a genuine smile.

"S-So touching!" Taka yells suddenly, crying as well. He suddenly launches onto Mondo and Chihiro, hugging them both. "I'm so sorry you had to deal with all of that brother! But Chihiro is completely right… you have us now! There's no need to worry about something like that anymore!" He's crying even more than Mondo had been, and Mondo can only huff and grin at his bro, reaching around to pat his back.

I shrug, and launch myself into their hug as well. I smile at them, settling myself between Chihiro and Taka. _"This really… this really worked! They're okay…!" _I start tearing up. _"They're going to be alright!"_

Mondo lets out a small chuckle. "You guys are crying more than me…"

And for once, I don't mind crying one bit.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Fuck a duck guys, there's gonna be a third part to this chapter! :I I was trying to squeeze it all in, but it would have been over 10k words in this part alone! So yeah. No. orz**

**On another note, I was wondering if anyone had any requests for stories... Like little one-shotty things. :v I'd like to practice those, since most of my ideas that I have in the works are definitely gonna be several chapters long. x'D So yeah, just PM me or something if you've got an idea for me. I'd really appreciate it! c;**


	13. Chapter 10-3: Scissor Blade!

Chapter 10-3: Scissor Blade!

Makoto's P.o.V:

Mondo sighs as he flops down on his bed. "So… what do we do now? Do I hafta… go talk to everyone else?"

I shake my head. "Not if you don't want to…"

He sighs. "I think I'll jus' do it tomorrow when we all get together… like fuck I'm gonna go search for all those asses right now."

"That's fine." Chihiro says, smiling at him. "I'm glad you at least told us…"

He scratches the back of his head, a little sheepish. "I couldn't just not tell you asses after you said you trusted me so much… which I still don't fucking get if I'm being honest."

"Like we said before!" Taka grins, slapping him on the back. "We are friends! There's no reason for us to not trust you!"

I sigh, glancing to the clock on the wall. It's five-thirty. "It's later than I thought it would be."

"Yeah." Mondo says, stretching. "Say, you guys wanna grab some food? I'm starved."

"That sounds wonderful brother!" Taka says, grinning. "Makoto, Chihiro, will you be joining us?"

Chihiro shakes his head. "Actually… I think I'm going to go take a nap. I feel a little drained."

He nods. "Very well! What about you Makoto?"

"I'm gonna have to pass." I say, smiling a little. "I've gotta go talk to Byakuya about Toko. We need to get her secret out of her somehow…"

Mondo nods. "I get that. Seems like the type who would jus' snap and start cutting people up."

"Brother!" Taka hisses, frowning over to the biker. "Don't be so rude!"

"What?" He says, glaring over to the hall monitor. "I'm jus' sayin! Besides, Makoto's gotta think the same thing too since he's goin' out of his way to talk to her!"

Taka shakes his head. "Brother, did you not consider that maybe Makoto simply wanted to speak to Byakuya?"

"Taka! That's not it at all!" I yell, face flushing. I glance over to see Mondo screwing his face in thought. "Don't actually consider it! Talking to Toko is a serious issue!"

Mondo suddenly grins, shooting me a knowing look. "Oh, I'm _sure_ Makoto. Bet that's the only reason you're going to talk to her "White Knight"…"

"Dude, shut up!" I screech, face boiling.

"Worry not Makoto!" Taka says, smiling over at me. "We've already accepted your relationship with Byakuya. Just make sure that you're safe!" He huffs. "I've already accepted that I can't stop the lewd behavior, but I will not tolerate ignorance! Be sure to use a condom!"

…

There are a couple of beats of stunned silence before Mondo erupts into laughter. Chihiro flushes to the tips of his ears, and my face feels like I just took a dip in a volcano.

"Dude, are you fucking serious right now?!" Mondo manages, tears in his eyes.

"Of course!" Taka says, crossing his arms. "I don't understand what's so funny about this however. It's a serious issue!" This only makes him fall back into a new wave of laughter, clutching his stomach from the force of it.

"Alright, I'm done with this." I say shortly, face on fire. "I'll see you all later." I turn and stalk over to the door, quickly opening it.

Chihiro stands from his place on the floor, following me out. I close the door firmly shut behind us before letting out a groan.

"Why is it that Taka always manages to say the most embarrassing things?" I rub my face in my hands, willing the blush to go away.

Chihiro only laughs slightly, patting me on the shoulder. "It's just how he is… you know he doesn't mean anything by it."

"I know!" I sigh. "But that's what makes it harder! I can't get mad at him for it!"

He laughs again, but then lets out a yawn. "Well anyway, I think I'm going to go take a nap… I really am tired." He walks over to his room and opens the door, turning to me one last time with a mischievous smile on his face. "Have fun with your White Knight Makoto!" He rushes into the room before the shoe I throw can hit him.

I rub my forehead and walk over to retrieve the impromptu projectile, wondering how I managed to get it off my foot so quickly. _"Talking about running on auto-pilot…" _As I slip it back on, I glance around trying to think of where Byakuya may be.

"_He said he wanted me to go by his room… so he's probably there." _I muse trotting my way over to his door. As I move my hand to the buzzer, I feel a nervous lump form in my throat. _"…Why am I freaking out? I'm just going in there to talk to him about our situation with Toko and Genocide Jill. Nothing bad!" _

Right?

I groan and scratch my head in irritation. _"Stupid Taka! Stupid Mondo! And I can't believe I'm saying this, but stupid Chihiro! They put these completely stupid thoughts in my head damn it! I have a serious job to do here!"_

I take a deep breath and push past the nervousness that really _shouldn't_ be there, and hit the buzzer to his room. After a minute or two of waiting, I hit it again. "Is he not here…?"

As if responding to my quietly asked question, which I think is weird because the rooms are soundproof, the door opens. My breath hitches when I see him but because of two key factors.

He's currently wearing only his usual black pants and white collared shirt, which is unbuttoned slightly. His hair is messy from sleep, and he's not wearing his glasses again. Basically… he looks pretty good right now.

Or that's what I would think if not for the second factor, which is that he's got the biggest death glare I've even seen on his face.

"What?" He grinds out, clearly not pleased at having been woken up.

"I-I, uh…" I fidget slightly under his piercing gaze. "You had told me to come by…"

He stays quiet for a moment before grunting slightly in acknowledgement and motioning for me to go inside. I quickly make my way in and he slams the door shut behind me, moving back to his bed. He sits and rubs his temples slightly in an effort to wake up.

"I shouldn't have allowed myself to take that nap…" He grouses, clearly irritated. He then looks up at me, irritation showing even more on his face. "Why are you standing there like an idiot? Come over here."

Not wanting to poke the half-asleep bear, I do as he asks and flop unceremoniously onto the bed next to him. He glances over to me and sighs. "You just had to do it like that didn't you…" He reaches over to the night stand by his bed and grabs his glasses, sliding them on.

He speaks in a low voice, probably so that Junko can't hear us. "Let's get down to business. I asked you here for a couple of reasons, the first and foremost being the issue of Toko and Genocide Jack."

I nod. "Right… I'm guessing you had the same thought as me right? That Jack might remember too?"

"Right." He says, pursing his lips. "We can't afford to have her come out and say something that might tip the others off to what's going on. We need to take the appropriate course of action to prevent that."

"Which means…" I say, biting my lip. "We need to go and talk to Toko." I scratch my head. "But how do we… turn her, without tipping her off that we already know about her secret? And Junko too?"

He huffs. "I have an idea. Toko switches when she sees blood, correct?" I nod. "Then we'll have to show her some."

I screw my face in thought. "But… the infirmary isn't open to us yet, right? How are you going to get blood?"

"I have that part covered." He says simply. "All I need you to do… is lead her to the bath house."

"Hah?" I ask, sincerely confused.

"You heard me." He adjusts his glasses slightly. "It's the only place where we can't be watched. So that's where we'll have to have her turn."

"Well…" I start, feeling on-edge. "If you say so Byakuya."

"And I do." He snarks. He stands and moves toward his dresser, still speaking in a low voice. I have to strain a little to hear him. "I'll get dressed and head over. After ten minutes I want you to tell her that I'm in trouble and take her there. Do not say anything unnecessary." He returns to the bed with an armful of clothes. He looks at me with a smirk on his face. "Now unless you'd like to watch me undress, which I'm certain you do, I suggest you leave."

My face erupts in a flush before I rocket off the bed. "I-I'll be going then!" I swear I hear him chuckle slightly as I dash out and slam the door shut behind me. I grimace as I realize that he was _teasing_ me. "Stupid…" Since when had his asshole-ish nature start to be endearing!?

Grumbling to myself, I sulk over to my room and flop down on my bed. I stare at the ceiling for the ten minutes I had to wait, trying really hard not to think about anything. I check the clock and see that the appropriate amount of time has passed, and I heave myself off the bed and head over to Toko's room.

Once I get to her door, I pause for a moment. _"This… should sound like an emergency, right? I really don't know if I can do this… I'm not really much of an actor."_ What do people do when they panic…? As I wrack my brain for answers, I decide it's really not worth putting much thought into. _"I guess I'll just wing it…"_

I hit the buzzer on the door and I'm left waiting for only a second before Toko opens it a crack, glaring out the door at me. "W-What do you want…?"

I do my best to seem frantic. "T-Toko! B-Byakuya he's…."

Her eyes widen and she throws the door open. "What about him!? Is there something wrong?"

I nod. "T-The bath house Toko… he needs help! I-I don't know what happened, but I walked in and saw him lying there-"

"Out of my way!" She screeches, blowing past me. I stare after her for a minute before quickly closing her door and running after her. I hear a strangled scream coming from the bath house and move faster, screeching to a halt as I get to the entryway.

Toko is sprawled out on the floor passed out, and Byakuya is standing over her with an irritated look on his face. "Was the screeching really necessary?"

I glance over to Toko. "With her, yes. I'm actually surprised this worked. What did you do-" I cut myself short when I look over and see him. "Byakuya, your hand…!"

His right hand is currently dripping blood on to the floor. He glances down to it with a nonchalant look on his face. "We needed blood. I have blood. It worked."

I rush over to him and grab one of the clean towels, putting pressure on the cut. "You idiot! We could have probably thought of something else, you didn't need to hurt yourself like that!"

"Tell me, where else would we have gotten blood?" He asks, a little condescending.

I grimace. "W-We could have just drained some off some of the meat in the kitchen! This wasn't necessary at all!"

He sighs. "A little bloodshed isn't such a big deal, not to mention the fact that it's a small cut. You're overreacting."

I glare at him. "I think not! There's a puddle on the floor Byakuya!" I gesture to the small pool of blood on the floor. "_That_ does not come from a small cut!"

"I made certain to hit a vein." He says flatly. "There wouldn't have been enough blood otherwise."

Without thinking, I smack him on the arm. "I don't care how little you think it is, this isn't okay! Next time at least talk things out with me a little more before you go and do something like this!"

He raises an eyebrow, scowling at me. "And why exactly should I do that? I'm more than capable of handling myself." I feel the anger boiling in my gut, and with just one more little push- "Tell me, why should I bother consulting you? It's not any of your business what I do with myself-"

I snap.

"Because I'm your _boyfriend_ god damn it!"

…

…

Well, that was loud.

Byakuya's expression shifts into one of surprise, before he smirks down at me. "Trying to announce it to the world? You're much bolder than I'd expected."

My face instantly erupts into a full blown blush. "S-Stop trying to change the subject!" I glance off to the side, a little sheepish. "I care about you, so that's why you should at least talk to me a little when you decide to do something as risky as this! I don't want to see your blood again!"

His eyes widen minutely before he huffs indignantly. "…Fine. If it'll keep you quiet, I will talk to you about these kinds of meaningless things from now on."

I grumble, barely registering the arms that snaked around my waist. "It's not meaningless at all…"

"To me it is." He tilts my head back and smirks down at me with a strange light in his eyes. "…Let me show you what _exactly_ you should think to be meaningful."

With that, he initiates our second kiss. He doesn't beat around the bush like had last time and immediately sticks his tongue in my mouth, smirking into the kiss when I start making noises. His hands roam from their original position, one going up to fist itself in my hair, and the other moving fully around my waist and pulling me closer to him.

Just as we're about to _really_ get into our… activity, a voice makes us fly apart.

"Ohhhh, clap clap clap! I'm glad _this _is what I wake up to this time!" I whip my head around to see that Toko had successfully switched from herself to Genocide Jack, red eyes gleaming with unmitigated delight. "Big Mac and my handsome White Knight in a full blown makeout session!? I'm in heaven~!"

Byakuya huffs as he straightens out his shirt, not at all embarrassed at being caught. "I see. So you really do remember."

"Of course master!" She cheers, winking at him. "I always do! But that's not important at all~! I bet Mrs. Gloomy Gills would choke to death if she saw that just now… she just doesn't understand the finer things I guess! Kyahahahaha!"

I flush to the tips of my ears. "You really don't have a problem with it…? I thought you wanted to hook up with Byakuya."

"Oh Macaroon, you're so foolish." She says, waving me off. "Sure I would have loved to take my White Knight for myself, but this is almost as good!" She does a little twirl before stopping to look at me, dreamy look in her eyes. "Tell me, how far have you two gone? I need pictures when you two actually decide to do it!"

"Hold it." Byakuya says, strange look on his face. "What did you mean by "you always do"…?"

"Oh, that?" She says, smiling sweetly over at him. "You don't know how many times this has happened! I tell ya, it's enough to drive a girl ca-razy! Imagine my delight when I wake up to see you fine pieces of ass making out in front of me! It's usually all just the same!"

My eyes widen as I try to process her words. "W-Wait… does that mean that this isn't the first time it's happened again!?"

"Not at all!" She says with a huff. "The first couple of times I tried to tell y'all, but you all just chalked that up to crazy psychopath talk, the nerve! I tell ya, I-"

"H-Hang on." I say, trying to catch up with her. "You can't be serious right now... once is already hard enough to believe! But multiple times!?"

She sighs, shaking her head with a smile on her face. "Oh Makenzie, lemme say it in a way you might understand. Every time we hit that red button to escape, we all started over again! It's like we were spamming the reset button on one of those videogames you seem so fond of!"

My breath catches as I stare at the girl. _"S-So we've just been… reliving the same thing? Over and over? Is there really… really no way to escape?"_

Byakuya seems to be perplexed by this as well, scowling in irritation. "So you're saying that we can't get out? And that we haven't ever actually escaped before?"

She shakes her head, braids swaying with the motion. "Nope nope! We never made it before! I'm pretty sure that uber-psycho Junko has a way for us to leave, but she just won't fork it over!"

I start slightly. "Wait… does Junko remember too!?"

"Nah." She says, twirling a pair of scissors in her hand. "She did the same thing every time just like the rest of ya. The one time I bothered to ask, she simply mumbled something about a "sweet, eternal despair." She's sorta gross!"

I grimace. "So she really _did_ have something to do with this…"

Byakuya crosses his arms, glaring at the serial killer. "Tell me, are you the only one who's ever remembered anything all these times?"

"Yup!" She says, striking a pose. "Senorita Doom n' Gloom didn't remember anything though!"

I purse my lips. "So it's safe to say that this… reset, is related to whatever she did to erase our memories? Since Toko was effected and you aren't…"

She nods eagerly. "Pretty much! Sharp as ever Macaroni!" She suddenly looks confused as well. "But this time is all weird!"

Byakuya raises an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Each and every time this has happened, everything's gone the same!" She crosses her arms. "I wake up at the same point each time, and everything goes the exact same way! It's like reading a book over and over, you all were the exact same word for word! But this time…" She tosses a pair of scissors in the air and catches them, pointing them at us. "You two were getting hot n' heavy in front of me, not to mention the fact that you guys seem to get that this isn't your first rodeo! It's like someone came in and decided to completely re-write the book halfway through the story!"

Byakuya considers her words, tapping his foot in thought. "So you're saying that this time alone is different?"

"Uh yeah." She says dumbly. "I woulda remembered waking up to _that_."

I glance over to Byakuya. "Do you think whatever she's been using to do this… might be failing then?"

"It may very well be a possibility." He says, rubbing his temples slightly. "Since when did the impossible become so easy to accept…?"

I snort. "Maybe since we learned that we had two years of our lives ripped away like it was nothing? Or since we learned about the biggest, most awful event in human history that was all started by a teenage girl?"

He sighs and rubs his forehead. "You're not helping."

I huff and turn to Jack. "Anyway… do you think you can keep quiet this time too? We may need to talk to you again about certain things though, so… try to keep Toko from waking up if you can."

Byakuya rounds on me. "Are you insane? You want to leave a serial killer running around without the others even being aware of her yet!?"

Jack nods. "Gotta tell ya Totes Makotes, that seems really stupid to me too. You wouldn't want me killing anyone, right?" She suddenly laughs. "I may actually kill that little cutie this time before the big, bad biker can!"

"I'm pretty sure if you haven't done it at this point, then we're pretty much safe… not to mention the fact I've already basically stopped that from happening." She pouts, and I shake my head. "Plus, I was just coming up with an idea for you to make a…" I flinch at the next part. "a grand entrance."

Her eyes light up. "Oh? Oh oh oh? You mean I get to be outed a different way this time!? Really? Fo'sho?"

"Only if you don't kill anyone!" I say, giving her a pointed look. She shuffles her feet a little before sighing.

"Okay, fine!" She rolls her eyes. "I won't make mincemeat out of any hotties here… not that I've had any desire to recently mind you!" She does another twirl before striking a pose, winking at us. "A gal's life gets boring when it's all routine! Maybe I should switch it up and just go completely-normal-not-stabby-psycho? Or should I try to go somewhat-violent-but-not-murderous-psycho? I'm afraid the first one may be a little passé!"

I rub my eyes. "Whichever one keeps you from killing someone!"

"Then I vote for option B! It would be awful if I let my lovely Geno-Scissors go unused for an extended period of time!" She squeals, rubbing one of said scissors on her face. "But yeah, I'll do my best to keep Miss Writer Pants under lock and key for now! No promises though, since I'm still technically the second personality!"

Byakuya sighs in irritation. "Alright then Makoto, since this was your idea, how do you propose we handle her "grand entrance"? It's going to be an issue getting everyone in the same place."

I screw my face in thought. "We should be able to gather everyone in the dining hall… except for Hiro maybe. But how do you want to do it Jack?"

"Hmhmhm…" She taps one of her scissors on her chin. "Well~ my normal entrance is _pretty_ dramatic so maybe… I'll introduce myself! Ya know, like how you do when you transfer into a new class!"

"That's… not very grand." I say, scratching the back of my head.

"Tsk tsk Macklemore, you just don't get it! There's beauty in its simplicity!" She points her scissors at me. "I may not like the writing Ms. Stuffy Pants does, but I at least know how to appreciate irony! You don't expect a serial killer to come up to you and say "Hey! I'm a serial killer!" It'll be a riot!" She starts giggling to herself.

I'm about to refute what she said, but… their reactions might be kind of funny. "Alright, we'll do it like that then!"

Byakuya groans. "This is going to be more troublesome than it's worth."

* * *

><p>"<em>He was right about the troublesome part!" <em>I mentally whine as I stand in front of Hiro's door. Jack absolutely refuses to come out unless everyone's in the cafeteria, including "that hobo lookin' dude". I've been standing outside his door for a good fifteen minutes trying to pry him out of the room, but with no luck.

"Hiro, just come out! This is important!"

"No way!" He screeches from behind the door. "I'm not going out there! You all are going to kill me! You're in cahoots!"

I rub my forehead. "We're not in cahoots! We're your friends!" I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn to see a very bored looking Celes behind me. "H-Hey Celes… weren't you waiting in the dining hall with everyone else?"

"I'm tired of waiting. Can we not just start without him?" I shake my head, and she smiles at me. "Well then, would you mind if I tried my hand at this?"

A little shocked at her offer to help, I move out of the way. She then hits the buzzer. "Hiro, open the door. We are waiting to discuss something of great importance, and they refuse to start without you present."

"Pass!" He yells, not opening the door.

"Oh? Maybe you did not hear me…" She then kicks the door as hard as she can, face shifting into something other than the plaster smile she usually wears… something a lot scarier. "I said, they _refuse _to start without you… If you don't haul your _sorry ass_ out of that room I'll have this door broken down and I'll drag you out by your disgusting dreadlocks, you two-bit fortune teller!"

I look on with a mixture of amusement and horror as the door flies open and he bows to her, begging for forgiveness. "I'm so sorry! I'm going! I'm going right now!" He then scurries down the hall to the dining area, leaving a smug Celes in his wake.

She turns to me with a sweet smile on her face. "Problem solved. Shall we proceed?" I nod shakily and walk down the hall with her, reminded of how she truly is.

Once in the dining hall, I quickly scan the room to see if everyone's present. Seeing that they are, I go to the kitchen to where Jack and Byakuya are waiting. "Alright guys, everyone's here. Are you ready Jack?"

She nods, grinning at me. "More than ready! I can't wait to meet my classmates all over again!"

Byakuya rubs his forehead. "Let's just get this over with…"

We walk out and stand at the head of the table where everyone's sitting. Jack is doing her best to look like Toko, mostly by keeping her tongue in her mouth and trying to scowl like she does. I clear my throat to catch their attention. "Ah, alright guys, quiet down please!" They all do after a moment, and I nod. "Okay thanks. So… you all may recall how Chihiro, Taka, and I all went around and shared our secrets with you."

"Uh yeah?" Leon snarks. "That was only a few hours ago dude."

"Right…" I say, scratching the back of my head. "Well you see, Toko has a secret too… and here she is." I say, gesturing over to Jack.

"Hey, Toko? Why do you look so… strange?" Hina asks, looking over at the serial killer. I glance over to see the scowl falter, and suddenly her restraint snaps.

"Kyahahahaha! Sorry to burst your bubble Guppy, but I'm not that little social invalid!" She grins like a mad woman and strikes a pose. "Presenting the one and only… Genocide Jack! Split personality of a Miss Toko Fukawa! I'd personally prefer to be called Jill, but the internet wants what it wants!"

The room suddenly goes quiet. So quiet that you can hear a pin drop. "W-Wait… what?" Hiro squeaks, breaking the silence.

"You heard me! The serial killer who's become an internet sensation, disappearing without a trace each time! No one would ever guess that it's Toko Fukawa's other half!" She pulls out some of her scissors and strikes a pose with them. "Of course, the little dweeb had no clue what I was doing at first! But when I got found out she had no choice but to keep quiet!"

"So Toko knew?" Hina asks, sadly. "And she didn't even bother to warn us!"

"Of course not!" Jack says with a giggle. "You guys would probably have strung her up if she told you about me, the supernova known as Genocide Jack! Personally I would have liked to come out a lot sooner to meet you guys, but it's hard when she avoids her triggers like she does!"

"That is to say…" Hifumi starts fidgeting nervously. "We've been living with a natural born killer all this time!? W-We're all as good as dead!"

"Oh puh-leese!" Jack starts, twirling her scissors. "In this situation you're all worse than me! I've already promised to not chop up any of the pretty boys here under my White Knight's orders!"

"And why should we believe that!?" Taka yells, pointing towards her. "You've already taken lives before, your word means nothing!"

"Hey, I've turned a new leaf!" She yells indignantly. "Sure, I'm still gonna cut people up, but not you guys! And even if I do it's not gonna be enough to kill ya! How am I supposed to peek in on Master and Big Mac if I'm dead!?"

I bury my face in my palms, and Byakuya sighs. "You're disgusting. There's no way that's going to happen."

"Doesn't mean I can't try!" She says with a cheer.

"Suspecting her isn't going to do anything for us." Mukuro says, trying to fight back a smirk. "While her motives aren't pure, I think we can safely assume that she isn't going to try anything."

Jacks expression shifts slightly when she sees her. "Right… what pigtails said…"

I bite my lip. _"Crap! We forgot to tell her about Mukuro…!"_

Byakuya takes this opportunity to step in. "We all have the potential to become killers in this situation, so we should not assume her to be the culprit if it happens again… Otherwise it could cost us our lives."

With various grumbles of assent coming from the table, I relax a little. At least that's one less thing to worry about…

"Was this all this little meeting was about?" Celes questions, sipping at a cup of tea.

"Well yeah." I say, shooting her a weird look. "Did you not think that knowing about a serial killer who's living with us was important in any way?"

She sighs, playing with one of her drills. "It's not that I didn't appreciate the information, but I feel like word of mouth would of sufficed."

"Really." Byakuya snorts, glaring at her. "You would have just accepted the fact that Toko has a split personality who just so happens to be a notorious serial killer without witnessing it for yourself. I'm a little doubtful."

"Well, it _is_ quite the secret..." She says, smiling over at him. "It would have been easy to believe in that context, don't you think? And even if I didn't believe her, Monokuma would have just affirmed it tomorrow. There was no need to gather us all like this."

Suddenly one of Jack's scissors buries itself in the table beside Celes' hand, causing the girl to turn a scathing look towards the psycho. Jack simply grins at her.

"Wow, you're quite the rude little wench!" She giggles, flashing more scissors. "Macaroon was just trying to help you morons out! I may just have to break my usual habit of only cutting up handsome men for you hun!"

"How flattering." Celes says flatly, yanking the scissors from the table. "I must say… these things are awfully gaudy." With a couple of "ooohs" coming from the table, she smirks. "They suit you."

Flinching at the menacing aura suddenly coming from next to me, I decide to stop this before it can get any worse. "Okay, that's enough! Meeting adjourned!" I grab Jack's wrist and quickly drag her out of the dining hall and back over to the bath house.

She snatches her wrist away once we're in there. "Ohhh! That kind of person really grinds my gears Mak-Attack! Why'd you drag me away!? Stupid cake-faced emo broad…! She wasn't even pretty, I would be doing the world a service ending her existence!"

"While I'm not inclined to disagree, there are limits."

She whips her head around. "Oh, Master! So kind of you to join us!" Her grin slides off her face when she sees the girl standing behind him. "…What's she doing here?"

I glance behind him to see Mukuro standing there with an impassive look on her face. Byakuya clears his throat. "I noticed your reaction to her, so I brought her here to assure you that this is _not_ Junko Enoshima."

She snorts. "Tell me something I don't know! It's obvious that this is that soldier gal that was in our class… I was jus' confused as to why the hell she's still alive!"

I start slightly. "You can tell?"

"Well duh!" She says, rolling her eyes. "They smell completely different!"

"More to the point…" Mukuro says, looking at the girl. "It would seem that you know more that you're letting on. Care to explain?"

"No, not really." Byakuya shoots her a pointed look. "…Oh, fine!"

She then proceeds to explain what exactly she knows, and how this has happened multiple times. Mukuro's expression goes from shocked to perplexed as she explains, and as we chime in with our theories about it.

"You think it's related to whatever sis used to wipe your memories?" She muses, twisting her face in thought.

"Yeah… only because Jack remembers when apparently we all haven't before. It's only a guess of course, but we think it may be failing. Apparently no one aside from her has ever remembered anything before." I rub the back of my neck. "Things got a lot more complicated than I had expected…"

She grimaces. "I… think I'm going to have to do some digging…" She looks at her hand. "If what she's told us is true, then it looks like getting that red switch from her isn't our solution. I'm going to have to look for whatever can be used to actually open the door."

Byakuya sighs and pushes up his glasses. "I don't want you risking getting caught, but if you can manage it… we can avoid any more needless death." He shoots her an unreadable look. "If you can though… try to see what's been causing this… reset, will you? I want to know if it's truly failing, or if there's something else going on."

"Right." She says, nodding toward him. "I'll do it during my watch since sis can't be up all the time. That'll be my best bet to do some digging… and maybe talk to the others and see what they know."

"Are you certain that she doesn't suspect you at all yet…? How did she react to you asking to change your secret?" I question with a frown.

Byakuya raises an eyebrow, and she immediately looks off to the side. "W-Well… she simply told me not to worry about it, and said that she's got plenty of dirty laundry to air."

I bite my cheek. "And she didn't question why…?" She shakes her head. "I don't like this Mukuro, something's not right… I don't think she'd readily agree to something like that!"

"I told her it was because it was way too lewd." She says flatly. "Part of the lines that she made me rehearse was some jargon about saving myself for a good man, and turning down all the sleaze bags that came her way… if she wanted me to act like I respected myself, then how could I possibly whore myself out to a manager? She agreed immediately. It's completely fine."

I bite my lip, unconvinced. "If you say so Mukuro…"

She shoots me a small smile. "I appreciate your concern Makoto… and it makes me happy that you care. But I promise that it'll be fine." She turns to the door. "I don't want to stay here longer than necessary, so I'll see you all later."

After her exit, I glance to Byakuya. "You… don't buy it either right?"

He shakes his head. "I'm a little unsure what it was about, but… I do agree that it's a little suspicious that Junko agreed to something so readily. I wouldn't worry about it too much however; they are still sisters. What's the worst that she can do?"

"She _killed_ her last time Byakuya!" I screech, a little frantic.

"But she isn't doing it this time. If she wanted her dead she would be." He says, leveling a glare on me. "Just calm down and trust Mukuro's faith in her sister... as strange as it may be."

Jack slings her arm around my shoulder. "Seriously Macarena! You gotta loosen up, otherwise you'll start greying early and Master will lose interest! You don't want that, right?"

I roll my eyes at the serial killer. "Excuse me for trying to keep someone from dying." I start trying to walk away, but she and Byakuya simply follow. "Plus, I don't think I'm going grey just yet! Even then-"

He snorts, cutting me off. "I wouldn't lose interest because of a few grey hairs. They have hair dye for a reason."

"Byakuya!"

* * *

><p>The rest of the night is spent hanging around with Jack and Byakuya, as hard as it is to believe. It's not so bad, aside from the fact that she repeatedly attempts to get us to make out in front of her. After a couple of hours Monokuma's nighttime announcement rings through the halls, and we're forced to part ways.<p>

Or at least we should have, but Byakuya drags me over to his room once we drop off Jack in hers. "W-Wait, what are you doing?" I question as he unlocks the door.

"I told you earlier that I had a few things to address with you. This is one of them." He says flatly, pulling me inside and locking the door behind him. "You're sleeping in here tonight."

My eyes go wide as saucers and my face erupts into a blush. "W-Wait, why-"

"It's not like I'm going to have sex with you Makoto." He says, taking off his glasses. "We're just going to be sleeping… I have more respect for you than making you do something like that right when we start officially dating."

I fidget slightly, but take off my shoes anyway. My heart is hammering so hard in my chest that I'm certain I can see it thumping through my shirt. "I-If you don't mind me asking… what brought this on?"

He sighs as he takes his tie off, mumbling his answer so quietly that I have to strain to hear him.

"…It makes this seem more real to me."

As I process his words, I can't help the small smile that works its way to my face. _"I wouldn't have imagined… that it would be because of something like that."_ With all hesitation leaving in an instant, I pull off my hoodie and drape it over the chair. I walk over to the bed and pull the covers down before sitting myself on one side.

Byakuya comes over and sits on the bed, glancing over to me. "Did you… want to run back to your room for some sleep clothes?"

I shake my head. "No. I'll be fine." I smile at him and grab his hand. Hesitating a little bit, he scoots down on the bed and pulls me to him, still holding my hand. He drapes his free arm on my waist and places a quick kiss on my forehead. I flush at the uncharacteristically sweet gesture, but I can't help but feel a little irritated.

"You missed…" I mumble, pecking him on the lips. He looks at me in surprise for a moment, but then offers a rare smile before pressing his face into my hair and pulls me closer to him.

After a moment I look up to question why he hasn't pulled up the covers, when I notice that he's fallen asleep. _"He must have been exhausted…"_ Laughing quietly, I manage to grab the covers while he's holding me and maneuver them up so that we're at least partially covered. After a moment, I hear him mumble something in his sleep and a smile works my way on to my lips as I drift off.

It's really not so bad… this liking him thing.

* * *

><p>As usual, the morning announcement chimes at 7 a.m. sharp, startling me awake. Monokuma asks us all to go to the gym for the big reveal, and I quickly dash back to my room to change clothes before heading over with Byakuya. Once we're all there, Monokuma has us all sit in chairs he's arranged in a circle, sort of like an AA meeting you'd see on TV. Positioned on one end of the circle is a podium which he climbs up on. He shakes his head at us.<p>

"Really? Not one single person is dead? At all?" He then puts a paw to his cheek. "I wouldn't blame someone if they offed someone right now mind you, these are all _pretty_ brutal…"

"Shut the hell up and get on with it you monochrome turd." Mondo spits, flipping him off.

Monokuma looks positively scandalized. "Really? You of all people want me to say it that badly? I'm shocked! Shocked to the core!"

I lean over to Chihiro, who's sitting to my right. "Is he really okay with this…?" I question.

He nods. "After you left with… Jill? Yeah Jill. After you left with her the rest of them sorta… filled eachother in on their secrets. Except for Hifumi and Celes, who left right after Byakuya and M-Junko did. E-Even Hiro told us that he was being hunted by the Mafia…"

I bite my cheek to suppress a smile at my correct guess. "Even Mondo…?" He nods, small smile on his face.

"It was hard for him, but… he did it."

"Hey!" Monokuma yells, making us turn to him. "If I'm gonna spill nasty secrets, you should at least have the decency to listen! The nerve of you kids these days!"

I huff. "We wouldn't have been talking if you just got to the point already…"

He growls, but otherwise doesn't respond to my snide remark. "Fine, whatever… I'll just go down the list then! Since you were _so_ kind just then, I'll start with you Makoto!" He clears his throat. "Makoto Naegi… totally has the hots for that stud muffin Byakuya!"

I stare at him with a blank look on my face, as is everyone else. He huffs. "Really? No response at all? Well, it was sorta obvious anyway right? No secret there..."

But as he goes down his list of secrets, none of us show the slightest reaction. Taka's, Hina's, Hiro's… all met with the same blank stare.

"Alright alright then!" He starts, irritated edge in his voice. "How about this: Leon Kuwata got a blowie from a crossdresser!"

Nothing.

"Sakura Ogami isn't a virgin!"

Nada.

"B-Byakuya wasn't born rich…?"

Was that even a secret…?

"Hifumi dated someone… who wasn't 2-D!"

Surprising, but we all manage to keep our faces straight. He yells out in irritation.

"Celestia Ludenberg's real name is Taeko Yasuhiro!"

No reaction except for a loud "I knew it!" from Taka.

"Jesus, you're all so boring! But I know this next one will get a reaction out of you… Mondo Owada… killed his own brother. Can you believe it?! His own flesh and blood!"

Once again, nothing.

"Apparently you can…" He grinds out with a sigh. "Well then. how about this! See that girl who looks like Toko? It's not! She's actually a serial killer!"

"Already established you Winnie the Pooh knock off!" Jack squeals, twirling a pair of scissors.

"Ugh! Okay, this is something that I _know_ you'll have to react to… Chihiro Fujisaki… sweet, sweet Chihiro… is actually a boy! Really, someone flip his skirt! He's packing!"

But no one moves. No one does anything. And he sighs.

"You know… I saw you all confess to each other, so this really shouldn't be that much of a downer… but I'm hitting rock bottom here guys. I'm basically in the center of the earth with how low I am right now."

"Well it's your own fault for making this our motive!" Hina yells, glaring at the bear. "You seriously expected us to just sit by and let you expose us?"

He shuffles his feet. "I was expecting someone to kill someone else… and then just expose the blackened if they got caught. Or… if none of you nutted up and killed someone, to revel in the shock and awe that followed my reveal of your secrets."

"Well it obviously did not work." Sakura says with a nod. "We valued our lives over some petty secret. The choice was clear."

"Oh, it didn't?" He asks, tilting his head. "But… there's still one secret left. She didn't share hers either…" He says, gesturing to Mukuro.

Mondo scoffs. "Junko? Really, what shocking secret is she going to have?"

"I'm not talking about Junko Enoshima." Monokuma says flatly. "I'm talking about that girl sitting right there."

…

Oh shit.

I tense, whipping my head around to the girl in question. She's gone completely pale. _"Damn it Mukuro…! You said you had it taken care of!"_

Leon is the next one to speak up, looking decidedly confused. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh? Didn't you know? Upupupupu…" He trails off, making a lump form in my throat.

"_No, don't say it!" _I internally plead. _"Anything but-"_

"**That's not Junko Enoshima!"**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And so, chapter 10 finally draws to a close with this ominous conclusion! I hafta tell ya, I like writing Genocide Jack! It's fun coming up with different things for her to call Makoto.**

**So, I don't really have much to say this go around other than that, except for a little shameless advertising for my little oneshot known as "A Simple Solution"... I'd like to get some feedback on it if you don't mind or have anything better to do! Oh, but if you don't like Mondo and Taka being together, then it's really not for you. Just warning y'all. ' w');**

**Anywhore, I'll see you guys later! Drop any comments and concerns in the review box puh-lease!**


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